Toll-free Number to report Adverse Reactions of Medicines | Fusion - WeRIndia

Good news for consumers who want to report their negative reactions due to a medicine. Health Ministry unveiled a toll-free number to which people can call and explain their bad experiences with any medicine they used. They can report the adverse reactions they experienced with the medicine and the details of the medicine. The information would be screened and evaluated by the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centers using the international standards prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The information will be stored in the database for adverse drug reactions by the national coordinating centre. The databased will also be shared with WHO to manage the database of Global Pharmacovigilance.

A steering committee will be established by the health ministry for periodical reviews of the data and make any interventions if needed. The toll-free number is 18001803024 which is proposed to be displayed mandatorily in medical shops, hospitals and clinics.

Due to lack of awareness, the cases of medicine reactions have been increasing in the country. Approximately 110,000 adverse medicine reactions have been reported across India since 2011. But this was done only after establishment of a pharmacovigilance cell which was become mandatory by the government. Only a limited number of hospitals have been operating with the cells and majority of healthcare centres have no such provisions.

In this context, it is expected that the toll-free number would allow consumers to report adverse reactions on their own and create an environment to report the negative effects of medicines from all parts of the country.

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