What should a pharmacist do after receiving a Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Reporting Form from a prescriber?

After receiving a Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Reporting Form from a prescriber, the appropriate action for a pharmacist is to mail or fax the form to Health Canada's Vigilance Program. This is crucial because Health Canada monitors the safety of drugs on the market, and the information contained in these reports can contribute to ongoing safety evaluations and regulatory actions.

Ensuring that this information reaches the appropriate authority helps to maintain patient safety and can lead to necessary updates in drug labels, warnings, or even recalls if a significant risk is identified. Reporting adverse reactions is an essential component of post-marketing surveillance and helps to ensure that healthcare professionals are aware of potential risks associated with medications.

While informing the patient about the reaction is important for patient care, the formal reporting of adverse reactions to Health Canada takes precedence in this context. Contacting the drug manufacturer or filing the form with other patient documents does not fulfill the regulatory obligation to report these reactions to the appropriate authority.