0.5m Deaths Occur Annually Due to Medication Error’

KARACHI - Around 400,000 to 500,000 deaths are estimated to occur annually in Pakistan due to medication induced errors, said President Pakistan Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP), Abdul Latif Sheikh here Tuesday.

In reply to a question during a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club, he said that no authentic data to rely on, is available about deaths caused in Pakistan due to medication error, but as per rough estimates 400,000 to 500,000 patients expired annually in Pakistan due to medication induced errors.

It may be noted here that according to a report medication induced errors is the third leading cause of deaths in the United States.

Addressing the occasion along with Director CDL Saif-ur-Rehman Khattak, Director Pharmacy NICVD, Jibran Bin Yousuf, Eminent Pharmacist Umaimah Muzzamil and others, he announced to organize 5th National and 2nd International Conference on Quality, "Safety and Outcome; A Paradigm Shift in Pharmacy" on October 14.

He said that the conference will be hosted by the PSHP at a local hotel here and Sindh Governor, Muhammad Zubair is expected to grace the event as chief guest.

He said that the aim of the event is to examine the impact of its outcome that has produced a paradigm shift in pharmacy practice.

Latif Shaikh said that Professor and Dean Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago United States, Henri R Manasse Jr and Angers Member of the French Order of Pharmacists, Hospital Pharmacist, Chief of Department, Centre Hospitalier, Niort France, Jacqueline Surugue will also participate in the event.

Presence of international experts from pharmacy profession at the conference also serves as a golden opportunity for the local pharmacists to get acquainted with the latest developments in the field of pharmacy, he added.

CEOs and medical directors of public and private sector hospitals, managing directors of pharmaceutical manufacturers and officials of the pharmacies unit in various hospitals will participate in the event.