It seems like I am often the last person to know about certain news items. Since I don't watch television very much, I often miss the nightly news "tempters" about scandals and problems, so am not that inclined to tune in. I do "read" a couple of newspapers online, but that often consists of scrolling through a list of headlines and maybe clicking through on two or three.
This is all to say that I often miss news about drugs that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed dangerous or ineffective and decided to "recall." At least I used to miss this kind of news – now I am very well informed on this (but still may not know about all kinds of major news happening).
The FDA has partnered with Drugs.com to get FDA consumer updates directly to us – the consumers.
Called FDA MedWatch Alerts, these notices are sent out by e-mail and arrive in your inbox as messages from Drugs.com, entitled "FDA Alert," followed by the name of the drug or supplement that the alert is about.
Clicking on the e-mail, you are taken to a brief description of what the problem is and what the FDA is doing about it. You can find out more information by following links.
How Do I Sign Up for MedWatch Alerts?
Being "in the know" is easy.
1. Go to Drugs.com and register by filling out a form. You will see the prompt to register in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
2. When you register, you can click a box that says "Send me FDA Drug Safety Alerts" right in the form. If you forget to do this, once you are registered, you can also sign up by going to FDA MedWatch Alerts on Drugs.com website. At the top of the page, you will see a prompt to "Get alerts by email or subscribe to our news feeds."
What Do I Do If a Drug that I am Taking is Recalled?
First of all, don't freak out. Most of the time, drugs are recalled because of a very small number of events or problems and it is very unlikely that you are in immediate danger. However, DO contact your doctor immediately to find out next steps. You will probably need to be switched to another medication or even brought in for testing, depending what the issue around the drug is.
We are all participants in our own medical care. It is important that we stay informed and act rationally and promptly when there may be a problem with a medication. FDA MedWatch Alerts are a very powerful tool to help us stay safe and healthy.
