WHO promotes patient safety on World Patient Safety Day
by
Annu
On World Patient Safety Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the need of eradicating risky medication practices and medical errors in healthcare systems throughout the world.
Prescription errors and unsafe practices are estimated to cost USD 42 million per year globally, in addition to inflicting significant disability and death.
The World Health Organization's Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, has said that every year in low and middle-income nations, there are an estimated 134 million adverse events caused by dangerous medication, with an estimated 2.6 million deaths.
At every stage, there is the potential for medication errors or risky behaviour. In a statement, she speculated that it may be the result of human factors like fatigue, bad working conditions, a shortage of employees, or inadequate drug management systems.
Since 2015, the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) has worked hard to reduce harmful medication practises and errors by addressing the problem of counterfeit and substandard products and enhancing patient safety and reporting processes.
There is a regional emphasis on preventing medication-related harm in areas including emergency medicine, intensive care for the elderly, highly specialised care, and surgery.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is still helping countries in the region develop a plan to ensure that pharmaceuticals are produced and distributed safely.
To reach this goal, we assist policymakers in establishing event reporting and learning processes to enhance patient safety. Second, she advocated for empowering leaders to establish SOPs for secure medication administration and boosting health worker training and adherence.
Medical professionals are urged to familiarise themselves with and use cutting-edge practices for the safe administration of all types of medicine. As an additional measure, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designed a campaign called "Know, Check, Ask" to educate people on the necessity of taking pharmaceuticals correctly.