Walking The Talk On Medication Safety: Collaborating With Federal Ministry of Health, Others, To Celebrate World Patient Safety Day
“Drugs should be used in the right doses, for the right diagnoses, on the right patient, and at the right time. If we don’t obey these rights, potions can very quickly become poisons. It’s a very thin line.” –Dr. Asekhame Sonny Isemede Medications play a critical role in achieving the ultimate goal of healthcare: to prevent diseases, protect health and help people recover from their illnesses. Whether it be for curing a condition, managing symptoms, or repairing body function, medications help keep patients safe and well. However, as the World Health Organization reports, the harm caused by unsafe medication accounts for half of the overall preventable harm in medical care. Up to 42 billion US dollars of total health expenditure can be avoided worldwide if we prevent medication errors. In Nigeria, a recent study reveals that the overall incidence of adverse drug events (ADEs) is unknown and poorly documented, alongside an identified 47% prevalence of self-reported medication errors amongst healthcare practitioners. Therefore, patients and their families must be informed about uncertainties, risks, and treatment choices. In line with our commitment to protecting health and preventing diseases, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Centre for Infection Prevention and Patient Safety (CICAPS), and Patient Safety Africa, we commemorated this year’s World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) with the theme Medication Safety and the slogan Medication Without Harm. As a key partner playing an active role in Infection Prevention and Control, of which Patient Safety is a core component, we joined in this year’s WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm to help all stakeholders – patients, practitioners, policymakers and the public – see and understand safety and quality from various perspectives, most especially, from the eyes of patients. We also focused on the need to adopt a systems approach and […]