And one we can only answer thanks to constant monitoring by pharmacovigilance systems set up in the wake of the thalidomide disaster nearly 60 years ago. In the UK this safety net centres on the yellow card, a form anyone can use to report suspected side-effects. Yet despite doctors prescribing more medicines than ever, last year there was a fall in the number of cards sent to the monitoring authority. Drugs could be causing fewer problems, but it’s more likely that we have taken our eye off the ball. In recent years the number of items dispensed per person each year on the NHS has risen dramatically, from an average of 12 in 2001 to close to 20…

Source: The Times May 27, 2019 17:03 UTC