September 17: World Patient Safety Day

World Patient Safety Day observed on September 17, 2022.

Key points

  • The objective of the World Patient Safety Day is to raise global awareness about different safety measures that need to be taken to ensure patient safety.
  • It aims to increase public engagement in patient safety and create action plans to address issues that cause harm to patients.
  • On this occasion, patients, caregivers, doctors, healthcare workers, healthcare leaders and advocates take part in events that increase public awareness about patient-centric care and encourage patient safety at the international level.
  • The World Patient Safety Day came as the result of the 72nd World Health Assembly’s adoption of a resolution on “Global Action on Patient Safety” in 2019.
  • The aim of the resolution was to strengthen global healthcare systems.
  • 2022 marks the 4th edition of the World Patient Safety Day.
  • The theme for this year is ‘Medication Safety’, with the slogan being ‘Medication Without Harm’.
  • The theme focuses on raising awareness about the medication error and unsafe medication practices, which would cause adverse health consequences, disabilities and deaths.

Significance

  • World Patient Safety Day seeks to promote drug safety and the create awareness about the burden caused by medical errors and unsafe medications.
  • This is significant as unsafe medication practices and medication errors are costing approximately 42 million USD worldwide every year.
  • In low and middle income countries, including the WHO South-East Asia Region, patient harm caused by unsafe care has resulted in around 134 million adverse events a year, resulting in about 2.6 million deaths.
  • Medication errors are caused by weak healthcare systems and human factors like fatigue, poor environmental conditions or staff shortages.
  • To address this issue, the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 was adopted to promote policies, strategies and actions to remove avoidable risks and harm to patients and healthcare workers.

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