MedWatcher (iPhone app) tracks drug safety

Here's an interesting story from the Boston Globe:

The team from Children’s Hospital Boston that brought “Outbreaks Near Me” to smartphones during last year’s H1N1 epidemic has now launched a similar application for tracking and reporting problems with drug safety.

MedWatcher, another app for the iPhone available for free at the iTunes store, holds information about thousands of medications from US Food and Drug Administration databases. It sends alerts from FDA and news media sources on drugs, tailored to the user’s interests.

Here's a description of the app:

Stay up to date with the latest news and government safety alerts for the prescription medicines you take. Submit any side effects you experience to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make drugs safer for everyone.

MedWatcher is a mobile tool for both healthcare professionals and the general public. Anyone can submit an adverse event report to FDA using the easy-to-use form on MedWatcher, or post to our online community to talk to others taking the same meds. In the MyDrugs section, you can make a quick list of all the prescription medicines your family or patients take and track the latest developments.

Clinicians will find MedWatcher to be a vast improvement over the paper and fax FDA MedWatch form. No more cramped text boxes or tiny font! Do it at your convenience and fulfill your professional obligations in a convenient way. Get your patients involved in their health.

Take control. Participate in your health care.

This is a project of Childrens Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and the University of North Carolina.

Click here to learn about this app on the Apple App Store.