Adverse Drug Reactions

For many years the American Medical Association maintained a file of adverse drug reactions voluntarily reported by physicians. The Association discontinued this activity because most physicians were reluctant to report suspect reactions or would file a report with insufficient supporting data. The AMA finally closed out its file on adverse drug reactions and transferred responsibility for future monitoring to the Food and Drug Administration. This is unfortunate, for evaluation of medical risks and hazards would be better left in the private sector than being placed with a government regulatory agency.

Many factors discourage physicians from reporting adverse drug reactions, but one of the most important is uncertainty about whether an observed reaction is actually caused by a drug. This uncertainty generally results in underreporting; however, some studies conducted through retrospective chart reviews have given a false impression of the magnitude of the problem by including reactions unrelated to administered drugs.