Reviewing published information leaflets

Each one of our published medicine information leaflets needs reviewing every 3 years to make sure that the information and guidance on that medicine has not changed. This review work is vital for Medicines for Children to make sure our information remains up to date and accurate.

A key challenge for the work of the Medicines for Children team is keeping the clinical medicines information up to date. We are always seeking volunteers who have specific experience in prescribing paediatric medicines or of supporting families in how to give these medicines.

  • We are currently carrying out a review of all of our 200+ information leaflets to make sure that the information and guidance on that medicine has not changed.
  • We would appreciate support from medical professionals to review the clinical information on our medicines leaflets.
  • We anticipate the review of one leaflet takes around 20-30 minutes to complete.
  • You will receive an official letter of acknowledgment thanking you for your time, with listed learning outcomes to use for your continuing professional development portfolio.
  • The review work is vital for Medicines for Children to make sure our information remains up to date and accurate.

What does a medicine leaflet review involve?

  1. The full list of our patient information leaflets are available to view on our website A-Z of medicines. Please let us know which one (or maybe even two!) of the medicines you would like to review.
  2. We would like you to check the information for clinical accuracy. Please resist any urge to rewrite the information on the leaflet – they are written to a specific format using standard phrasing as far as possible.  Please check that the following are correct:
  • Indication/condition that the medicine is for
  • *Note – if a medicine is used for more than one indication, we usually develop one leaflet for each indication, even if the leaflets are similar in content. However, this this may not be the case for older leaflets – we are looking to rectify this.
  • Brand names – please check using the most recent BNF-C
  • Formulations/presentations – again please check using the most recent BNF-C
  • Any important side-effects that have emerged since the information leaflet was published
  • *Note – we do not attempt to be exhaustive with side-effects; we report anything potential serious and things that parents particularly worry about
  • Details of patient support or patient advocacy organisations
  • If you feel that anything else is inaccurate or unclear, please add a comment of explanation.
  1. Please mark any changes on the downloaded PDF of the medicine leaflet and let us know when your leaflet review is completed by emailing medicines.leaflets@rcpch.ac.uk

Ideally, each medicine review will be completed and returned within 3-4 weeks.