Data and privacy
How we use information you give us when you submit an adverse event report.
We want you to understand how we use the information you give us when you submit an adverse event report. Your privacy is important to us, and we handle all personal data in line with UK data protection law.
For full details, please read our Privacy notice.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for collecting and assessing adverse event reports relating to veterinary medicines.
When you fill in this form, we may collect:
- your contact details, for example, your name, email address or phone number
- information about the adverse event
- health and demographic information if the report involves a person
- any other information you choose to include
Please avoid including personal details about anyone in narrative fields wherever possible.
We use the information you provide to:
- assess safety concerns related to veterinary medicines
- contact you if we need more details to understand your report
- we will only use your data for regulatory and safety purposes
We process personal data under the UK GDPR because it is necessary for us to carry out a task in the public interest and as part of our official functions.
If your report includes health information or other special category data, we process this under:
- Article 9(2)(i) – processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, particularly ensuring high standards of safety for veterinary medicines
We use a specialist third party provider to collect and manage some reports on our behalf. They must meet UK GDPR standards, including rules on confidentiality and security.
We will not share your personal details with a Marketing Authorisation Holder.
We will not share your information outside the VMD unless the law requires us to.
We keep your information only for as long as necessary to meet our legal and regulatory responsibilities.
Details on specific retention periods are set out in our Privacy Notice.
Depending on the situation, you may have rights over your personal data, including:
- the right to access your information
- the right to ask us to correct inaccurate information
- the right to ask us to delete your information (where applicable)
- the right to object to how we use your information
Full details are available in our Privacy notice.