Physicians' attitudes towards voluntary reporting of adverse drug events.

At the time a new drug is placed on the market, information on its therapeutic effect and toxicity is limited. Because of its simplicity and widespread use, the voluntary reporting by clinical physicians is the main method for detecting rare or unexpected adverse drug events (ADEs). However, the usefulness of this method may be compromised if the reporting rate is low. We present the results of a questionnaire-based case-control study carried out among 692 physicians from Galicia (north-west region of Spain), in which we assessed their attitudes and opinions towards ADEs. In general, the Galician physicians think it is difficult to link a given ADE with a drug (P < 0.05) and have very heterogeneous opinions on the fact that very severe ADEs are known before the drug is commercialized. They globally disagree with the proposal that ADE reporting should be renumerated and the fact that ADE reporting can be risky for the physician. Some of the beliefs concerning ADEs are incorrect. It is crucial to improve the training of the physicians through active educational strategies based on personal contact.