Online reporting of adverse reactions
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* Barbara Sibbald

Physicians can now file adverse reaction reports with Health Canada online (at [www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/report-declaration/index_e.html](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/report-declaration/index_e.html)). The online system, launched in late July, makes it more convenient for health professionals and consumers to report adverse events, says René-Pierre Charron, acting manager, Partnerships and Outreach Section, Health Canada.

Adverse events can still be reported via fax or mail as well. “This is an extra way to do it,” says Charron. “Making an adverse-reporting system work well requires quantity and high-quality data.”

The new system was the result of recommendations gathered during consultations a year ago on MedEffect ([www.healthcanada.gc.ca/medeffect](http://www.healthcanada.gc.ca/medeffect)), the centralized portal for current safety information on health products launched in August 2005. “Consumers and health professionals wanted this,” says Charron.

The online reporting system is modelled after MedWatch ([www.fda.gov/medwatch](http://www.fda.gov/medwatch)) in the United States, he added. “Our form is essentially the same as theirs.”

Health Canada will add the information into its central database of adverse events ([www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/databasdon/index_e.html](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/databasdon/index_e.html)).