New York, 17 September 2022 (TDI): World Patient Safety Day is commemorated on the 17th of September every year. The global community reaffirms the objective of “Medication Without Harm” on this day.
The purpose of these commemorations is to spread awareness about harmful medication practices to reduce patient harm across the globe.
Today is #WorldPatientSafetyDay.
Medications can save lives, however they can do harm when not taken properly.
Around 1 in 20 patients are affected by avoidable medication harm in medical care globally.💊 https://t.co/aVcpGh7joz#MedicationSafety
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) September 16, 2022
World Patient Safety Day
People take part in these celebrations by organizing events, webinars, seminars, and awareness campaigns all over the world. Monuments like the Jet d’Eau in Geneva and others are also lit up in orange color since 2019 to celebrate this day.
Patient harm may occur due to lack of awareness, incorrect prescription, or wrong storage practices. Self-medication, or sometimes the consumption of multiple medicines at a time can also be dangerous.
According to World Health Organization, unsafe medication practices are a leading cause of avoidable harm in health care across the world. Such unsafe medication practices may cause severe patient harm, disability, or even death.
Also read: “End of COVID-19 is in sight”
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the risk of patient harm because of medicinal malpractices.
An increase in self-medication, the spread of false information regarding the cure of the virus, and rising fear before the invention of the vaccine led to medicinal malpractices.
Objectives of celebrating this day
The objective of celebrating this day is to spread awareness and enhance global understanding of patient safety. It will help take worldwide action against unsafe medication practices and patient harm.
This day is celebrated to empower patients and their families to avoid self-medication and move toward the safe use of medication.
WHO is also going to produce medication safety solutions and products in 2022 for this cause. World Health Organization invites its partners and member states to participate by pledging for the cause of patient safety.
