Half of avoidable care errors are related to drug misuse, warns the World Health Organization. A quarter of these events are serious or even life-threatening.
WHO ostrzega
Poor medication is one of the most serious health problems
Published Sept. 16, 2022 10:33
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The group most at risk of harm from medication misuse is seniors, especially those with multiple diseases and taking a lot of medications.
Medicines are powerful health care tools, but drugs that are mis-prescribed, taken inappropriately or of poor quality can do serious harm, said WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Nobody should be hurt while seeking care," added the director.
The global cost of medication errors has been estimated at $ 42 billion. annually. Problems most often arise due to systemic problems and human factors such as fatigue, poor environmental conditions, or a lack of human health personnel.
According to the WHO, more than half of all drug-related harm occurs at the stage of prescribing and taking medications for patients. Adequate monitoring is lacking. The category of drugs with the greatest risk are antibiotics, but also tranquilizers, anti-inflammatories and blood pressure regulators.
The World Health Organization calls for the development of strategies to improve drug safety. In Poland, the Medicines Review, piloted as part of pharmaceutical care, may be such a strategy. On September 17, we will celebrate World Patient Safety Day. This year's priority area of the campaign is the safety of drugs.
