World Patient Safety Day 2022: Medication Safety: Medication Without Harm
The theme for this year’s World Health Organization World Patient Safety Day, to be commemorated on 17 September 2022, is Medication Safety: Medication Without Harm.
World Patient Safety Day calls for the prioritization of best practices to promote patient safety and to avoid errors that result in patients experiencing harm in healthcare settings. It has been reported that annually, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as many as 134 million adverse events, following unsafe patient practices, occur in hospital settings, resulting in 2.6 million deaths (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine, 2018).
Dangerous medication practices result in avoidable harm in health care settings across the globe. Medication errors can result from a range of factors, amongst others, human error and resource shortages. When medications are not prescribed, dispensed, administered or monitored correctly, patient harm can result. Moreover, when not correctly stored, medications can become less effective, toxic or even a means to suicidal behaviour.
These adverse events can result in substantial psychological distress, physical harm and economic burden. The Medication Safety: Medication Without Harm campaign raises awareness of high-risk situations where medication-related harm can occur – such as polypharmacy and in transitions in patient care. It encourages individuals taking medication to check that they are taking the correct medication in the correct manner, and to ask their health care professional if they have any medication related questions. Health care workers are encouraged to talk to patients about the medication they prescribe or dispense, and to encourage patients to ask questions should these arise.
The Psychological Society of South Africa joins healthcare workers and civil society across the globe in commemorating World Patient Safety Day 2022: Medication Without Harm. PsySSA encourages service users and healthcare practitioners to play an active and deliberate role in preventing medication-related harm.
Link: https://www.who.int/multi-media/details/medication-without-harm—world-patient-safety-day-2022#