Medication errors account for 18.3% of adverse events: Health experts

KARACHI: Medication errors account for 18.3% of adverse events in hospitals on average. Comparatively, roughly 3% of hospital fatalities are attributed to these incidences, and in Pakistan, over 0.5 million people are claimed to die annually due to these errors.

Health professionals reported this at a webinar titled "Medication without harm" conducted on this day, with Dr Muhammad Saqib Aziz, Chief Executive Officer, PHC, presiding. The gathering was attended by senior officials of the Commission and health professionals. 

Dr Faisal Sultan, CEO of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Dr Noor Muhamad Shah, the Director of the Pharmacy Division of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), and Prof. Dr Muhammad Tayyab, the Councillor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP), gave comprehensive presentations on their respective fields.

In addition, health experts urged physicians to strictly adhere to standardised medical and clinical protocols when prescribing medications and treating patients. In the event of any negligence, the relevant authorities must conduct a thorough root-cause analysis to implement corrective measures and prevent future occurrences.

Dr Saqib Aziz stated in his introductory comments that the purpose would be to empower healthcare providers, patients, and health information experts to promote the eradication of unnecessary injury due to pharmaceutical mistakes and attain the best quality health care. 

In addition, he highlighted the four areas of drug safety: the public and patients, professionals, medications, and systems. 
He noted that medication safety was a global concern for patient safety, and even in a country like the United States, adverse drug events vary from 2 to 6 per 100 admissions. 

He elaborated on various aspects and facets of medication errors, adding that such errors occurred due to inadequate medication management systems and human factors, which negatively impacted prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring practises, which could lead to severe patient harm, disability, and even death. 

Dr Saqib Aziz stated that the management of medication (MoM) was a core functional area of the minimum service delivery standards (MSDS) of the PHC and included all necessary components of medication-related requirements to ensure medication safety and prevent medication mistakes.

Dr Faisal Sultan conversed in keeping with the patient safety day topic. 
He commented on the SKMH&RC's system for preventing pharmaceutical errors. In the event of an adverse occurrence, he described the corrective procedures that would be taken following an investigation into such errors. 

Prof. Muhammad Tayyab then provided an enlightening presentation on drug utilisation review and risk assessment strategy for medication safety, followed by Dr Noor Muhamad Shah's presentation on the "Pharmacovigilance System: Overview of Pakistan."