A postdischarge adverse drug reaction capture mechanism using medical record technicians

This article describes a system of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting implemented at WJB Dorn Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital, Columbia, South Carolina, which involves reviewing all inpatient charts by medical record technicians for possible ADRs and notifying the chief pharmacist for investigation. Cases are assigned to a clinical or staff pharmacist who completes an ADR data collection form. All ADR forms are presented to and reviewed by the pharmacy and therapeutic committee where a decision is made on whether to forward the ADR to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration via the VA Central Office for compilation. In the program's second quarter of 1990, ADR reporting increased approximately fivefold.