WORLD PATIENT SAFETY DAY 2022: September 17 is one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global public health days called World Patient Safety Day. It was established in 2019 by the 72nd World Health Assembly through the adoption of resolution WHA 72.6 – ‘Global Action on Patient Safety ‘. The day focuses on preventing and reducing risks, errors, and harm that patients face. In modern society, it is important to understand the implications of negligent patient care and work toward modern standards regarding patient care.
The main objective of World Patient Safety Day is to increase public awareness, enhance global understanding and call for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to increase patient safety and reduce patient harm.
World Patient Safety Day 2022: Theme
The day aims to raise global awareness of medication-related harm caused due to errors and unsafe practices and advocate urgent action to improve medication safety for patients. World Patient Safety Day also focuses on scaling up the implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm. The theme for this year is “Medication Safety”.
World Patient Safety Day: History
Across the world, many unsafe medication practices and errors caused unavoidable harm to patients’ health. Medication errors occur when weak medication systems along with fatigue, vulnerable environmental conditions, and shortage of hospital staff affect prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring practices which then leads to patient harm, disability, and even death.
Due to the COVID-19-induced pandemic, the risk of medication errors and harm has increased. Hence the theme for World Patient Safety Day 2022 is ‘Medication Safety ’.
World Patient Day: Significance
The day brings together patients, families, caregivers, communities, health workers, healthcare leaders, and policy-makers to show their commitment to patient safety.
