Have you ever noticed a black triangle on your prescription medication leaflet and do you know what it means for patient safety?
A study led by Adelaide University has found more than 90 per cent of consumers and around half of health professionals aren’t able to correctly identify the symbol, and this could have serious implications for patient safety.
The Black Triangle Scheme was introduced nationally in 2018 to encourage patients and clinicians to report side effects that come with newer prescription medicines and existing medications that are being used in new ways.
A large number of the most common prescription medications carry the black triangle, including medications used to treat diabetes and weight loss, heart failure, covid vaccines, cancer and sleep therapies.
“Our findings suggest that most people don’t know about the scheme or the meaning of the symbol,” said Dr Eyob Alemayehu Gebreyohannes, from the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science at Adelaide University.
“Less than 10% of consumers and 52% of health professionals were aware of the scheme and a significant number of people who had noticed the symbol didn’t understand what it meant.
“This indicates that a system that’s mean to safeguard patients is performing well below its potential and possible safety warnings are not being reported.”
More than 400 participants were surveyed as part of the study, which is the first of its kind to examine awareness of the scheme among both consumers and health professionals in Australia.
“This scheme applies to some of the most heavily prescribed treatments in use today and our findings show there is a clear need to make changes to help detect side effects that may not be common knowledge,” said Dr Gebreyohannes.
“This is important because once a medicine reaches the market, much of what we learn about safety comes from real-world use – patients and clinicians noticing and reporting effects that didn’t surface in clinical trials.
“One positive that did come out of our research is that once people were aware of the symbol and its purpose, the majority of respondents said they would be more inclined to report side effects.”
The findings have been published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, with researchers recommending that the symbol be reworked and repositioned to a more prominent place, where consumers are more likely to see it.
“This information needs to be displayed where people actually look, for example, in the adverse-effects section of the medicine information or potentially even on the packaging itself,” said Dr Gebreyohannes.
"It should also be anchored in day-to-day practice through electronic prompts during prescribing and dispensing, and through a dispensing label sticker that cues pharmacists to raise it with patients.
“Importantly, people need to know that they can lodge a report themselves, directly with the regulator, without going through a clinician.”
The research was carried out in collaboration with Monash University and the Netherland’s University Medical Centre Groningen.