Product update
New feature: emc change notifications. Helping professional users stay up to date with medicines changes
Mar 16, 2026
emc change notifications has launched, giving healthcare professionals and other professional emc users automated email alerts when the medicines information that matters to them changes.
Tara Protheroe
Product Manager, Datapharm
emc change notifications has launched on emc (medicines.org.uk), enabling healthcare professionals (HCPs) and other professional users to subscribe to automated email alerts for the products and documents that interest them.
Whenever a relevant document is published on emc, such as a new or updated SmPC, PIL or aRMM, subscribers receive an email letting them know what has changed, with a direct link back to emc. It is a simple way to stay abreast of the latest medicines information, without needing to manually check emc.
Watch the video tutorial on change notifications
Helping professionals stay up to date
Keeping track of changes to medicines information takes time. SmPCs and PILs are updated frequently, and professionals need to be confident they are working from the latest version. emc change notifications makes this easier:
- Choose the products and documents you want to follow, and only hear about those
- Receive an automated notification email, whenever a chosen document is published or updated on emc
- You can receive alerts as changes happen, or as a weekly summary
- Emails follow a standardised template managed by Datapharm - they are consistent, easy to scan, and link back to the Changes History Page (SmPCs and PILs) or the document (aRMMs) on emc
Reducing the overhead of SmPC communications
Communicating SmPC updates to partners, suppliers, internal teams, and regulatory contacts is a compliance requirement, but the manual process creates significant overhead. Teams often spend time drafting individual emails, identifying the right recipients, and repeating the task for every update.
Change broadcast addresses this end-to-end with:
- Automated, tailored emails generated per change
- A saved company address book, shared across your team
- An audit report to track which update was sent, to whom, and when
How does it work?
Full instructions are available on emc academy. In brief:
- Navigate to 'Send Broadcast' within your approved SmPC submission.
- Build your company address book by adding contacts individually or uploading a CSV. Ensure you have consent or legitimate interest before adding recipients.
- Select recipients and preview the broadcast email.
- Send the broadcast. Recipients receive an email with change details and a direct link to the updated document on emc.
- Download audit reports to track all broadcasts sent by your company
What's next
Change broadcast initially covers SmPCs, the document type identified by our customers as the highest priority. Subject to feedback, coverage may extend to Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) and Risk Minimisation Materials (RMMs).
Later in 2026, we will also be introducing emc change alerts, enabling HCPs to subscribe directly to updates on the products and documents relevant to them.
To share feedback or request additional document types, contact the Datapharm Service Desk at [email protected] or speak with your Key Account Manager.
Change Broadcast FAQs
All registered emc publisher users within a company can send change broadcasts. The address book is shared across all users in the same organisation.
You are the Data Controller for change broadcast. Only send broadcasts to recipients who have given consent, or where you have a legitimate interest basis. change broadcast must not be used for promotional communications.
Upload a CSV containing a simple list of email addresses. No additional columns are required. Invalid email addresses are flagged on screen and excluded until corrected.
Each email shows the sending company, the document the change relates to, the type of change (new SmPC or an update), and a direct link to the change on emc.
Yes. All broadcast emails include an unsubscribe link. If a recipient unsubscribes, you will be notified the next time you attempt to send them a broadcast. You can then remove them from your address book or send an opt-in request.
The contact must click to confirm opt-in before broadcasts resume. Until they do, they remain unsubscribed. Ask them to check their spam or junk folder, and verify that their email address is correct in your address book.
No. A single address book is shared across your company account. If multiple address books would be useful, please let us know.
The email content is automatically generated and cannot currently be edited. If this would be useful, please contact your Account Manager or the Datapharm Service Desk.
There is no cap on recipients per broadcast. As Data Controller, ensure that consent or legitimate interest applies to all contacts.
You can download a date-filtered audit report showing which broadcasts have been sent by your company, to whom, and when. Within the address book, you can also see each contact’s opt-in status.
Take a screenshot of any error message, note the date, time, and the SmPC or product involved, then contact the Datapharm Service Desk with this information.