A successful community hospital program for monitoring adverse drug reactions.

All health care professionals are responsible for reporting ADRs. The physician records these events in the patient's medical record. In the monitoring program at Meriter Hospital, pharmacy responsibilities include review and assessment of all reported ADRs. When appropriate, the ADR is reported to the FDA. The pharmacy department maintains ADR statistics, reports quarterly to the P&T committee, and disseminates information to appropriate hospital committees and departments. The P&T committee supports the ADR monitoring program and policy. This committee reviews all ADRs and recommends action plans. The ADR monitoring program has successfully increased the number of ADRs reported, and actions resulting from ADR reports have had a positive impact on patient care.