The World Health Organisation (WHO) today launched a global initiative to reduce "severe and avoidable" medication-associated harm in all countries, including India, by 50 per cent over the next 5 years.
The Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety (GPSCMS) aims to address the weaknesses in health systems that lead to medication errors and the severe harm that results.
"WHO today launched a global initiative to reduce severe and avoidable medication-associated harm in all countries by 50 per cent over the next five years," a statement said.
WHO said that medication errors cause at least one death every day and injure approximately 1.3 million people annually in the US alone.
While low- and middle-income countries like India are estimated to have similar rates of medication-related adverse events to high-income countries, the impact is about twice as much in terms of the number of years of healthy life lost.
"We all expect to be helped, not harmed, when we take medication. Apart from the human cost, medication errors place an enormous and unnecessary strain on health budgets. Preventing errors saves money and saves lives," said Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.
Globally, the cost associated with medication errors has been estimated at USD 42 billion annually or almost 1 per cent of total global health expenditure.
Noting that all medication errors are potentially "avoidable", WHO said preventing errors and the harm that results requires putting systems and procedures in place to ensure the right patient receives the right medication at the right dose via the right route at the right time.
"Medication errors can be caused by health worker fatigue, overcrowding, staff shortages, poor training and the wrong information being given to patients, among other reasons.
"Any one of these, or a combination, can affect the prescribing, dispensing, consumption, and monitoring of medications, which can result in severe harm, disability and even death," WHO said.
The actions planned in the challenge will be focused on four areas - patients and the public, health care professionals, medicines as products, and systems and practices of medication.
"The challenge aims to make improvements in each stage of the medication use process including prescribing, dispensing, administering, monitoring and use.
"WHO aims to provide guidance and develop strategies, plans and tools to ensure that the medication process has the safety of patients at its core, in all health care facilities," it said.
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