Yellow Card Scheme

Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

About this app

The Yellow Card Scheme is the UK system run by the MHRA* for collecting and monitoring information on suspected adverse reactions to all medicines including vaccines, blood factors and immunoglobulins, herbal medicines and homeopathic remedies, and all medical devices available on the UK market.

The Yellow Card app has been developed for medicines and allows users to:
> Report a suspected side effect to a medicine (including vaccines, herbal products and homeopathic remedies)
> Track new safety information published by the MHRA about medicines
> Create a watchlist for alerts to medicines of interest to you
View numbers of reports received by the MHRA to medicines and vaccines

Suspected problems or incidents involving medical devices, defective medicines, suspected counterfeits or fake medicines can also be reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card website at http://www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. All reports received through the app or website can help the MHRA identify potential new concerns about a medicine or medical device and act as an early warning for further investigation. The MHRA will review the product if necessary, and take action to minimise risk and maximise benefit to the patients.

*The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the executive Agency of the Department of Health and Social Care; the MHRA protects and promotes public health and patient safety by ensuring that medicines, healthcare products and medical equipment are used safely and meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, performance and effectiveness.

Ratings and reviews

Not user friendly, so people won't submit reports of side effects, so the database can't be reliable. But the "Continue as guest" button does nothing, doesn't even "blink" to acknowledge a tap. (I'm on a new phone and have lost lost my password.) I only wanted a quick look at one medication but I'll have to find my way to the website... when I get round to it. Unlikely! Tragic; this could, should, be as invaluable to the NHS (and save professionals' time answering questions!) as to individuals.

I agree with previous reviews that this app is a bit clunky and appears slow at times. Pros: detailed questions, cons: the watch list seems to reset everytime you log in. Only after reselecting products does everything reappear. Some reviews mention issue with entering DOB - to resolve do this in calender after tapping a date specific question. Above the month is year followed by long date. Tap the single year to jump between all years. Many apps use the same API, so this is a common feature.

Not for Individuals - very bizarre! When you try to use this app to report medicine side-effects, the very first COMPULSORY question is about who you are. It provides a drop-down list of options. ALL are medical professionals! There is no option for patient/individual ie the poor sod having problems with the med. This is a BIG change for Yellow Card - and not a good one. I know from past experience that a lot of GPs can't be bothered doing it, so to exclude patient reports is madness!

What's new

This version includes framework updates, ensuring continued performance improvements, enhancements and stability. Update now for the best experience.