FDA allows open access to adverse drug reaction database | Hematology Oncology

"The FDA announced it is making access to its adverse drug reaction reports easier to obtain, with open access to the public.  In a press release, Taha Kass-Hout, MD, MS, chief health informatics officer at FDA, said that the information previously difficult to obtain will now be available online in a computer format that will allow for relatively easy searches. Software developers will also have the ability to develop their own search tools to complete more advanced queries of the data. Data will be available for reports submitted between 2004 and 2013, but no patient information will be disclosed ... In the past, adverse drug reaction reports were only made available by filing Freedom of Information Act requests, which can be a lengthy process, or by downloading large amounts of data that may not have been encoded in a user-friendly format.  Industry, researchers and consumers will have access to the database, but upon visiting the database, a warning to potential users is displayed, explaining that the program is in beta development mode and that users should assume the data are incomplete and not validated. New users are required to submit an email address to obtain an application program interface (API) code ..."