J Yip1, D R Radford, D Brown. 1. School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2DT, UK.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Pilot investigation to establish the knowledge, use and education needs of general dental practitioners (GDPs) of the UK yellow card (YC) reporting scheme. DESIGN: Postal survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: GDP views and experiences.Results Of 130 respondents, 74.6% were aware of the scheme. There was greater awareness of the scheme among those with more years in practice (p = 0.003) and those who had trained in the UK (p = 0.002). Six GDPs reported using the YC scheme in the past four years (estimated overall use: 0.01 of a YC per GDP per year); 88.5% had never used the YC scheme. The main reason given was that they never saw ADRs (58.5%). GDPs who had received their undergraduate training in the UK were more likely to be aware of their responsibility to report ADRs as a dentist than those who had trained outside the UK (p = 0.009). While GDPs were able to identify a wide range of sources to help them learn about ADRs, over three quarters of respondents (76.9%) expressed a need for additional postgraduate training. CONCLUSIONS: Under-reporting of ADRs by healthcare professionals is a recognised phenomenon and GDPs appear to be no exception. The effect of providing additional postgraduate training on ADR reporting should be investigated.
OBJECTIVE: Pilot investigation to establish the knowledge, use and education needs of general dental practitioners (GDPs) of the UK yellow card (YC) reporting scheme. DESIGN: Postal survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: GDP views and experiences.Results Of 130 respondents, 74.6% were aware of the scheme. There was greater awareness of the scheme among those with more years in practice (p = 0.003) and those who had trained in the UK (p = 0.002). Six GDPs reported using the YC scheme in the past four years (estimated overall use: 0.01 of a YC per GDP per year); 88.5% had never used the YC scheme. The main reason given was that they never saw ADRs (58.5%). GDPs who had received their undergraduate training in the UK were more likely to be aware of their responsibility to report ADRs as a dentist than those who had trained outside the UK (p = 0.009). While GDPs were able to identify a wide range of sources to help them learn about ADRs, over three quarters of respondents (76.9%) expressed a need for additional postgraduate training. CONCLUSIONS: Under-reporting of ADRs by healthcare professionals is a recognised phenomenon and GDPs appear to be no exception. The effect of providing additional postgraduate training on ADR reporting should be investigated.