The ninth annual #MedSafetyWeek is raising awareness about the importance of reporting suspected side effects to national medicines regulatory authorities such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

This year, it is running from 4-10 November an includes 94 countries and 107 organisations from around the world.

The campaign focuses on the importance of using medicines correctly to prevent side effects, for example by taking the right medicines, at the right time, in the right way and at the right dose.

In cases where side effects do occur, people are urged to report it to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme and local reporting systems as soon as possible. This enables MHRA to identify new adverse effects and gain more information about known adverse effects, and in turn improve the safety of medicines and healthcare products for all patients.