§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to establish a national computer record of the side-effects of drugs.
§ Dr. MawhinneySuch a computer record already exists. Under the yellow card scheme introduced in 1964, doctors are requested to report suspected adverse drug reactions, and pharmaceutical companies have a statutory requirement to report these reactions to the licensing authority. Such reports are entered on to a computer database operated by the Medicines Control Agency. In 1991, a new computer system, adverse drug reactions on-line information tracking—ADROIT—was introduced to improve the speed and effectiveness of monitoring adverse drug reactions.