If a patient reports an ADR, what is the pharmacist's immediate action?

• A. Call the patient to confirm symptoms
• B. Document the ADR and notify proper personnel (pharmacist/prescriber)
• C. Replace the medication with a similar product
• D. Ignore unless symptoms worsen

Answer: (B)

Promptly documenting an adverse drug reaction and notifying the appropriate personnel is essential to patient safety and pharmacovigilance. When a patient reports an ADR, the pharmacist should record the event in the patient’s chart or the pharmacy’s adverse-event log with details such as the drug involved, dose, onset, symptoms, and any actions taken. Then share this information with the prescriber and the pharmacist-in-charge or designated safety contact so the clinician can assess whether therapy should be changed or stopped and so the event can be reported through the proper internal or regulatory channels. This coordinated action helps protect the patient and supports safety monitoring across the care team. While reaching out to the patient to gather more details can be helpful, it doesn’t replace the immediate need to document and escalate the report. Replacing the medication or ignoring the ADR without guidance could put the patient at risk.