This contact is for those who are reporting on events that have occured. Please call the Medicine Information Line if you are looking for other Medicine advice.

Adverse Medicine Events Line

Sometimes medicines have unexpected and undesirable side effects. The Adverse Medicine Events (AME) Line provides consumers with an avenue for reporting and discussing adverse experiences with medicines. Call the AME Line if you suspect that your medicine is causing a problem and you’re worried about using it. The AME Line provides independent, accurate and evidence-based information.

AME Line is not for emergencies

If you have concerns about your medicines arising from an overdose or suspected poisoning, call the Poisons Information Centre, 24 hours a day on 13 11 26. For general emergencies call000.

How do consumers contact AME Line?

• Call 1300 134 237 from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call (calls from mobiles may cost more)
• Hours of operation: Monday–Friday 9am–5pm AEST (excluding public holidays).

What things should I report?

You can call to discuss any side effects that might be due to your:

• prescription medicines
• over-the-counter medicines (e.g. pain relievers and cold medication)
• complementary medicines (vitamins, minerals, herbal or natural medicines).

Why is it important for me to report side effects?

It helps you and it helps others. Early detection can reduce the impact of side effects. Talking to the AME Line pharmacists can help identify if your experiences are related to your medicines. If your side effects appear to be medicine related, we will refer you back to your doctor to discuss the options available to you. Medicine-related side effects are reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for assessment and contribute to national medicine safety efforts. Your personal information will remain confidential and your privacy maintained.

Medicines reports made to the TGA can be viewed on their publicly accessible database, theDatabase of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN). This database includes adverse event reports about prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary medicines (vitamins, minerals, herbal or natural medicines).

The DAEN contains reports submitted by individuals, health professionals, manufacturers and suppliers of medicines. The database does not contain all known safety information about a particular medicine, so conclusions about its safety should not be made based on the information in the DAEN.

Reporting helps others because it helps build a more accurate picture of the side effects caused by a medicine. New medicines are tested before they are approved for sale in Australia, but some side effects may not show up until more people have taken the medicine. Read more about collecting information about side effects after a medicine has been approved for sale.

Who will answer my call?

Your call will be answered by NPS pharmacists. The AME Line is funded by the Department of Health.

Protecting your privacy

Any information we collect from you will be collected, stored and used in accordance with the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988.

Give us your feedback

We welcome your comments about the AME line. Please contact us with your feedback.

For more information

• Understanding side effects
• Medicines List
• Managing your medicines