The Yellow Card Scheme is the UK system for collecting information on suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to medicines. The scheme allows the safety of the medicines and vaccines that are on the market to be monitored.
The Scheme was founded in 1964 after the thalidomide disaster, and was developed by Bill Inman. It is run by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM). Suspected ADRs are collected on all licensed medicines and vaccines, from those issued on prescription to medicines bought over the counter from a pharmacist or supermarket. The Scheme also includes all herbal preparations and unlicensed medicines. ADRs can be reported by anyone; this is usually done by healthcare professionals - including doctors, pharmacists and nurses - but patients and carers can also make reports.
The sort of ADRs that should be reported are:
Yellow Cards are available from pharmacies and a few are presented near the back of the BNF as tear-off pages, copies may also be obtained by telephoning +44 (0) 808 100 3352. The scheme provides forms that allow members of the public to report suspected side effects, as well as health professionals.
The NHS Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care has issued an information standard for electronic submission of ADRs by IT systems. This is based upon the ICS E2B (R2) international standard. In July 2015 a Yellow Card smartphone app was launched for iOS and Android, allowing patients, carers and healthcare workers to report adverse reactions to medications, as well as enabling them to set up alerts for news on particular drugs and find out how many Yellow Cards a medicine has received.
The Yellow Card Centre Scotland is a joint venture between MHRA and the Scottish Government.