get-drug-adverse-events · OpenFDA MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What get-drug-adverse-events does on OpenFDA

AI agents call get-drug-adverse-events to retrieve information from OpenFDA without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why get-drug-adverse-events needs a policy

Even though get-drug-adverse-events only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs — an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Questions about get-drug-adverse-events

What does the get-drug-adverse-events tool do? +

Get adverse event reports for a drug. This provides safety information about reported side effects and reactions. Use brand name or generic name. It is categorised as a Read tool in the OpenFDA MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on get-drug-adverse-events? +

Register the OpenFDA MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get-drug-adverse-events: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches OpenFDA. Nothing to install.

What risk level is get-drug-adverse-events? +

get-drug-adverse-events is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit get-drug-adverse-events? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get-drug-adverse-events rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block get-drug-adverse-events completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for get-drug-adverse-events. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides get-drug-adverse-events? +

get-drug-adverse-events is provided by the OpenFDA MCP server (ythalorossy/openfda). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.