World Patient Safety Day focuses on medication misuse
ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) joined the World Health Organization and healthcare leaders around the globe in celebrating World Patient Safety Day, September 17, 2022.
This year’s campaign focused on medication safety with the slogan, “Medication without Harm.”
“Unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of avoidable harm in healthcare globally,” says Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, president and CEO of ECRI. “As we raise awareness of the potential for medication errors to occur, we invite healthcare leaders to join us in taking important steps to make care safer for patients around the world.”
The World Health Organization is calling on stakeholders to prioritize and take early action in key areas associated with significant patient harm due to medication errors and focus on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on medication safety.
According to ISMP, many medication-related safety challenges still exist across the globe, including the need for more national reporting and learning systems, the lack of medication safety officers in some healthcare organizations, and mix-ups involving the COVID vaccines.
“We applaud WHO for drawing attention to medication safety with this year’s theme. There needs to be a greater global focus on reducing the risk of medication errors,” says ISMP President Rita K. Jew, PharmD, MBA, BCPPS, FASHP. “We all have a role to play in proactively addressing longstanding and emerging issues to better safeguard our patients. ISMP offers tools and resources to empower the healthcare community to take action.”
In support of this year’s theme, ECRI and ISMP developed a World Patient Safety Day 2022 Resource Center with free and shareable resources to support global awareness of the high burden of medication-related harm due to medication errors and unsafe practices. Resources include guidelines and recommendations for practitioners and safety tips for consumers.
