20 September 2022, Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation’s Pharmacy Department has organized educational sessions on topics related to patient safety and medication safety to raise awareness about patient safety practices, particularly the risks of unsafe medication use, among the healthcare professionals as well as patients.
Unsafe medication safety practices are major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As a part of the global commitment made by WHO member states (countries including Qatar), the 72nd World Health Assembly adopted a resolution “Global action on patient safety” to improve patient safety by minimizing avoidable harm in healthcare.
The WHO endorsed the establishment of World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) to be observed annually on 17th September. The key objective of this resolution is recognizing patient safety as a key health priority, engaging key stakeholders, empowering patients and families and promoting global action to minimize medical as well as medication errors. As the ongoing global fight against COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated the risk of medical errors and association medication related harm, ‘Medication Without Harm’ has been selected as this year’s theme for the WPSD.
HMC’s Pharmacy Executive Director, Dr Moza Al Hail said “pharmacists are medication experts and are well positioned in hospital as well as community care settings to advise and educate patients on medication related issues.
While traditionally pharmacists have been perceived as “behind the glass” dispensing medications, in the changing healthcare landscape they are increasingly seen as an integral part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team. They have a crucial role in addressing complex patient care needs such as medication reconciliation, appropriate medication use, medication adherence, assessing medication errors and providing mitigation strategies etc.”
Dr. Moza further added, “to ensure safe and effective use of medications across the continuum of care, HMC’s Corporate pharmacy department has developed several medication-related quality improvement initiatives. These include, developing risk-specific protocols for high-alert medicines; identifying and evaluating high-risk processes (e.g., total parenteral nutrition, compounding, pediatric dose preparation), safety protocols and training; evaluating medication error data; evaluating and implementing state of the art technologies (Outpatient Pharmacy Automation System, Robotic IV Sterile Compounding Automation System, Barcoded Medication Administration (BCMA), and smart pump); and fostering robust error reporting processes.”
To raise awareness about patient safety practices among the healthcare professionals as well as patients, the Corporate Pharmacy Executive Office will be organizing educational sessions on topics related to patient safety and medication safety, distinct medication safety booths will be set up in several locations at HMC to provide medication related information to patients etc.
This year’s World Patient Day safety event is organized by corporate pharmacy department to show solidarity with the WHO ‘Global action on patient safety’ and acknowledge the important role of pharmacists in safe and effective use of medications. Dr Moza said, “I am pleased to support this patient safety initiative as I strongly believe that pharmacists, as medication safety experts are uniquely qualified to develop and implement patient safety proactive error-prevention strategies and build a culture of safety in complex healthcare settings.”
Anyone interested in more information on the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan can visit:https://www.patientsafetylearning.org/blog/how-do-we-take-global-action-for-patient-safety
