26 FDA Aderse Event Reporting System (FAERS)

26.1 Organization

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

26.3 Description

  • Database that contains information on adverse event and medication error reports submitted to FDA.
  • Designed to support the FDA’s post-marketing safety surveillance program for drug and therapeutic biologic products.
  • Adverse events and medication errors are coded to terms in the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) terminology.

26.4 Vintage/Release Frequency

Quarterly since 2004

26.5 Observational Unit

Event

26.6 Collection Methodology

  • Healthcare professionals, consumers, and manufacturers submit reports to FAERS.
  • FDA receives voluntary reports directly from healthcare professionals (such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses and others) and consumers (such as patients, family members, lawyers and others).
  • If a manufacturer receives a report from a healthcare professional or consumer, it is required to send the report to FDA as specified by regulations.

26.8 User Guide/Data Dictionary

File descriptions included in each download

26.9 Cost

Free for download

26.10 Proposal or Application required?

No

26.11 DUA required?

No

26.12 Special Notes

  • There is no certainty that the reported event (adverse event or medication error) was due to the product. FDA does not require that a causal relationship between a product and event be proven, and reports do not always contain enough detail to properly evaluate an event.
  • FDA does not receive reports for every adverse event or medication error that occurs with a product.
  • There are also duplicate reports where the same report was submitted by a consumer and by the sponsor.
  • FAERS data cannot be used to calculate the incidence of an adverse event or medication error in the U.S. population.