Medicines information
All medicineslicensed for use in the UK are strictly regulated to ensurethey are as safe as possible.
The entire process of medicine development is controlled, and monitoring continues after medicines become widely available.
In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the organisation that looks after the safety of prescribed medicines and other health devices and equipment.
Its main job is to make sure that medicines and medical devices, from painkillers to pacemakers, work properly and are acceptably safe.
The MHRA works closely with the European regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) , which oversees the safety of medicines across Europe. In some cases, the EMA takes the lead in licensing medicines used in the UK.
No product is completely risk free, so the MHRA uses as much information as it can to ensure the benefits of medicinesfor patients justify any possible risks.
Both the MHRA and EMA routinely carry out inspections to checkall parts of the medicine development process, from testing to manufacturing, are carried out in line with strict regulations.
The MHRA assesses the results of Research and clinical trials to decide whether or not new medicines should be licensed for use. Clinical trials are research studies that carefully test the safety and effectiveness of medicines, using strict criteria.
No medicine or medical device can be used in the UK until the MHRA or EMA has given it a licence that sets out how it should be used and which health condition it should be used to treat.For example, depending on your age, sex and what other medicines youare taking, a medicine might cause you to have a side effect that someone else who is also taking it wouldn'thave.
Ultimately, you and your healthcare professional have to weigh up the pros and cons of each medicine when deciding on the most appropriate treatment.
The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of medicines once they are in wider use by checking reports about any problems or defects, and reviewing new scientific evidence on different medicines.
If any problems arise, the MHRA can take action to deal with it. This may mean alerting healthcare professionals about a potential issue with a medicine, and withdrawing a medicine from the market if it becomes apparent that side effects outweigh the benefits.
The Yellow Card Scheme is a special reporting system for possible adverse effects of medicines.
If the healthcare professional treating you thinks a medicine may have caused a potentially concerning effect, they will fill in a report and send it to the MHRA.
You can also use the Yellow Card Scheme yourself, or on behalf of a child or adult in your care, by:
As medicines are a crucial part of medical treatment, it is important to have a good understanding of them.
Before a medicine can be widely used in the UK, it must first be granted a licence.
All medicines that are licensed for use in the UK are strictly regulated to ensure they are as safe as possible.
The names of medicines can often be confusing, as the same medicine can sometimes be called different things.