28 April 2026
Colleagues from AWTTC and YCC Wales have contributed to new research published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice exploring how adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting could be improved for community pharmacists in Wales.
The paper, titled “Community pharmacists’ views on ways to innovate adverse drug reaction reporting: a questionnaire survey”, was authored by researchers from Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, including members of the AWTTC and Yellow Card Centre Wales teams.
The study investigated community pharmacists’ experiences of reporting ADRs through the UK’s Yellow Card Scheme and explored potential innovations that could make reporting quicker, easier and more accessible. Researchers gathered feedback from pharmacists across Wales using an anonymous online questionnaire.
Findings showed that pharmacists were supportive of digital solutions to streamline reporting, with the most popular suggestion being integration of Yellow Card reporting within the ChoosePharmacy portal. Participants also welcomed the ability to submit shorter reports and to track reports and receive feedback after submission.
The research highlighted ongoing barriers to reporting, including lack of time and not encountering suspected ADRs frequently. It also identified low awareness of the Yellow Card app, suggesting that greater promotion of existing reporting tools may help increase engagement.
The authors concluded that improving accessibility and efficiency is key to encouraging ADR reporting in busy community pharmacy settings, and that further work is needed to explore how these preferred innovations could be developed and tested in practice.
Congratulations to everyone involved in this important research, which contributes to ongoing efforts to strengthen medicines safety and pharmacovigilance across Wales.
You can read the paper here ijppha_34_s1_issue.pdf