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MHRA opens AI-themed patient safety essay contest to pharmacy students for MedSafetyWeek

🇬🇧 MHRA · Mon 02 Nov 2026

The agency has widened its 2026 essay competition to pharmacy students and is urging Yellow Card reports on medicines and devices, with low reporting rates for AI-enabled devices flagged.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has marked the eleventh #MedSafetyWeek, running 2-8 November 2026, by launching a national patient safety essay competition and repeating its call for Yellow Card reports. This year's global message is "Don't ignore suspected side effects, report them." According to the MHRA, more than 130 organisations from over 120 countries will share medicines-safety messages in more than 60 languages.

The 2026 competition asks entrants to write up to 2,000 words on how the Yellow Card scheme can help identify risks linked to AI as a medical device, and how detection and reporting of AI-related adverse events by patients and healthcare professionals could be improved. It is now open to pharmacy students as well as UK medical students, after pharmacists asked to take part. Last year's inaugural round drew 68 entries from more than 30 UK medical schools.

Entries close on Monday 11 January 2027. There are six prizes: first-prize winners in each category receive £500 and an invitation to present their essay at a national meeting of the Commission on Human Medicines and the Interim Devices Working Group, while second and third prizes are £300 and £200.

The MHRA also set out what should be reported: suspected side effects from medicines, vaccines, herbal, homeopathic and e-cigarette products; medical device incidents; suspected defective medicines; and suspected fake or unlicensed products, especially those bought online or via social media. Patients, parents, carers and healthcare professionals can all report, and proof of causation is not required. Alison Cave, the agency's Chief Safety Officer, said reporting rates for medical device problems, including AI-enabled devices, are currently low and encouraged healthcare professionals to report them.

What it means for your team

  • No new regulatory requirements arise from the campaign; it is an awareness drive for spontaneous reporting through the Yellow Card scheme.
  • The MHRA has said device reporting, including for AI-enabled devices, is currently low, so vigilance and post-market surveillance teams may wish to review internal routes for staff and customers to report.
  • Marketing authorisation holders and device manufacturers can use the campaign materials on the Yellow Card website to support awareness among patients and healthcare professionals.
  • The AI-themed essay topic suggests the agency is paying attention to how adverse events involving AI-enabled devices are detected and reported.

Official source: MHRA ↗

Article written by VigiEye from the official source (MHRA). AI-assisted; check the source before acting.

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