The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is urging community pharmacists to routinely check patients’ drug allergy status before dispensing their medicines.

The recommendation is part of a range of measures outlined in NICE’s first ever guideline on the diagnosis and management of drug allergy in adults, children and young people (see:www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/CG183). Each year, around 62,000 people are admitted to hospital after experiencing a severe allergic reaction to a drug, while between 2005 and 2013, six people died from drug reactions. Medicines most commonly associated with allergic reactions include antibiotics, general anaesthesia and painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen.

In cases of suspected drug allergy, the guidance advises healthcare professionals to record the generic and proprietary name of the drug, the strength and formulation and the date and time of the reaction. In addition, the patient’s medical records should be updated and their GP should be informed, while the patient should receive ‘structured, written information’ about their allergy. NICE has also called for prescription forms to be redesigned to include information on an individual’s drug allergy status and the drugs they must avoid.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: “If we know that giving someone a particular drug could cause them harm, or in the worst instances may even kill them, the utmost care must be taken to ensure they are not prescribed or administered that drug.”