Medication without harm: policy brief

Download or read book Medication without harm: policy brief written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2024-03-07 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patient harm due to unsafe care is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and most of this harm is avoidable. Harm due to medicines and therapeutic options accounts for nearly 50% of preventable harm in medical care. The main objective of this policy brief is to support successful implementation of the third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm, and to advocate for prioritizing medication safety in health care. It will also support implementation of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030, on policies relating to eliminating avoidable harm in health care and ensuring the safety of clinical processes. Solutions that can be implemented in countries are proposed under four domains: the patient and the public; health and care workers; medicines as products; and systems and practices of medication within the three action areas: high-risk situations, polypharmacy and transitions of care. This document is a resource for policy-makers, health workers, health care leaders, academic institutions and other relevant institutions, to understand the global burden of medication errors, address and prevent medication-related harm at all levels of health care, aligned with the strategic plan of the third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm.