In less than 100 words, what is your idea?:
This is an idea for an online resource and/or tracking system for consumer reporting of adverse psychiatric drug reactions. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) already has a system in place for reporting adverse drug reactions for all medications and vaccines however there is no public disclosure of the process of investigation nor its outcomes (see http://www.tga.gov.au/adr/rephap.htm). This idea could give people online information about all adverse reactions to particular medications recorded by the TGA and what actions have been taken. If the TGA was not involved, reports could be logged on the site by consumers instead (or a combination of both). There could be links to all publicly recorded information about known adverse reactions such as drug trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies - how long the trials went for, how many participants, where the data was published (if at all), when the drug was approved, and adverse side effects already noted. The website would be limited in scope to psychiatric medications used by Australian consumers. The site could also include discussion forums and resources for mental health consumers on medication use, peer support, consumer advocacy, recovery, and local networks and support groups.
What is the social need or challenge your idea could address?:
Many psychiatric medications are known to cause symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, and paranoia (along with other neurological and physical injuries and even death). Consumer reports of adverse psychiatric drug reactions are often under-reported to the TGA, and existing logs of adverse reactions attributed to particular drugs are not easily accessible to the public. In addition, mental health clinicians can face difficulties in identifying adverse psychiatric drug reactions and may wrongly attribute the reaction to the client's mental health issues due to lack of training in this area. In this situation, a client experiencing an adverse drug reaction may be prescribed additional medication inappropriately, further worsening their condition. The lack of public disclosure and under-reporting of adverse psychiatric medication reactions contributes to a general lack of awareness on the part of both consumers and clinicians. This lack of awareness can result in longer-term drug-induced injuries sustained by clients of the mental health system.
What’s really new about your idea?:
There is no existing public forum or information service in Australia which provides for the public disclosure of adverse psychiatric drug reactions experienced by people with mental health issues. Many mental health clients thus suffer adverse drug reactions in silence and never receive adequate treatment for their condition. This website would provide an information service about adverse psychiatric drug reactions, allow people to share their experiences, develop peer support relationships, and build networks towards greater public disclosure of adverse psychiatric drug reactions.
