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The Yellow Card Scheme: why your report matters
Ask most people what a “yellow card” is and they’ll picture a referee penalising a questionable tackle. In the healthcare industry, however, the Yellow Card Scheme is something very different: a national system for collecting reports about adverse reactions to medicines, vaccines and medical devices, helping to keep them safe.1
The scheme is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It relies not just on doctors, but patients to report suspected side effects or problems with healthcare products. That includes everything from prescription medicines to medical devices, blood products, and even complementary medicines.1
On the surface, it sounds simple. But this system acts as an early warning sign. Without it, problems could go unnoticed for years, and patients might keep using medicines or devices that are causing harm.
Why the Yellow Card scheme exists
No medicine or treatment is completely free from side effects. Every medicine licensed in the UK goes through rigorous testing and must meet incredibly high safety standards before it’s approved.
Clinical trials are designed to spot the most common side effects and ensure treatments are safe and effective for the vast majority of people. But trials can’t always capture every scenario, for example, how a medicine behaves in people who are pregnant, or those with complex health conditions. That’s why, once a treatment is rolled out and used more widely, rarer side effects sometimes come to light.
That’s where the Yellow Card comes in. It collects these reports, builds up patterns, and helps the MHRA see when something needs a closer look.
Maybe it’s a new side effect that needs to be added to the leaflet. Maybe it’s a device that isn’t working properly for a certain group of patients. Or in rare cases, it could mean a product is pulled while experts investigate further.
Without those reports, all of this evidence is lost.
It’s not just up to doctors
A common misconception is that doctors are the ones doing all this reporting. They do sometimes, but it’s not mandatory for them. And because the process takes time, not every case makes it into the system.
That’s why the scheme relies so heavily on patients. If you’ve ever experienced a side effect, or suspected a medicine wasn’t quite right for you, your report is just as important as any doctor’s. It helps build the bigger picture, especially when others are experiencing the same thing.
Without patients stepping up, huge gaps open up in the data. We’ve seen this before. The pelvic mesh scandal revealed that thousands of complications weren’t captured in the Yellow Card system. For years, women lived with pain and long-term harm before the scale of the problem was truly understood.2
Why this matters for new treatments
This is especially important for newer treatments like weight loss medications that have only been available in the UK for a couple of years. These medicines are effective and have gone through strict testing, but because they’re still relatively new, there may still be some unidentified, albeit very rare side effects that people have experienced.
That doesn’t mean the medicine isn’t safe, but it does mean your report could help highlight something that regulators and clinicians need to keep an eye on.
What you can report
The Yellow Card isn’t only for side effects. You can also report:
Injuries or near-misses with medical devices (e.g. broken parts, unclear instructions)
Problems with medicines not working as expected
Poor quality or defective products
Suspected counterfeit or fake products
You don’t need to be 100% sure the medicine or product caused the problem. Even suspected issues are worth logging.
Submitting a report only takes a few minutes online. Report a side effect or problem through the Yellow Card scheme here
Numan’s take on safety
At Numan, patient safety is always the priority. We monitor treatments carefully with regular check-ins and optional blood tests. But we also want our patients to feel confident and proactive in their care.
If you experience a side effect:
Submit a Yellow Card, so your experience helps others and adds to the national picture.
Tell us, so your clinician can support you and decide if your treatment plan needs adjusting.
This combination of patient reports, clinical oversight, and regulatory monitoring is what makes healthcare safer for everyone.
The numan take
The Yellow Card scheme may not be a household name, but it has a huge impact. Without it, thousands of cases of harm or side effects would go unrecorded every single year. With it, we have a chance to act earlier, prevent unnecessary suffering, and make sure treatments remain as safe as possible.
So if you’re ever unsure about a side effect, don’t ignore it. Report it.
References
Yellow card. Gov.uk. [accessed 30 Sept 2025] Available from: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/
Campbell D, Fishwick C. NHS and medical devices regulator tried to limit scandal over vaginal mesh implants. The guardian. 2017 Apr 21; [accessed 30 Sept 2025] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/21/nhs-vaginal-mesh-implants-scandal-suppress-media
Written by Hassan Thwaini
Clinical Pharmacist and Copywriter, Master of Pharmacy (MPharm)