World Patient Safety Day-2022 Patient safety our top priority, says KIMS Vice-Principal

Medications are meant to cure a patient from disease and in some cases used as a preventive measure, but consumption of medicines without consultation could be equally harmful and disastrous. Many studies have revealed that consumption of medicines without consultation could result in adverse situations in the long run and might also lead to antimicrobial resistance. 

Poly-pharmacy (concurrent use of multiple medications) and look-alike and sound-alike medicines might also lead to serious problems. Not only medicine consumption without consultation but improper storage practices, inventory entry, quality check, distribution and monitoring could also lead to a catastrophe and might lead to suffering and loss of human life.

As the world observed Patient Safety Day-2022 on September 17, Dr Shubhransu Patro, Professor in Medicine and Vice-Principal Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), said the time has come to stop the practice of consumption of medicines without the consultation of a doctor. Terming it a “dangerous way to have medicines without consultation’’, Prof Patro, however, emphasized upon the utmost importance to assure patient safety in the line of the slogan of World Patient Safety Day-2022 “Medication Without Harm.’’ The Senior Professor of Medicine has also given importance to the implementation of drug audit and creating awareness among patients and the general public not to have medications without consultation.

Prof Patro has also stressed upon the objectives of the World Patient Safety Day 2022 as propagated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) i.e. to raise global awareness of the high burden of medication-related harm due to errors and unsafe practices, to advocate urgent action and engage all stakeholders to act in this regard,  to empower patients and their families to be actively involved in the safe use of medication and to scale up implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm.

It can be mentioned here that the global campaign for patient safety reaffirms the objectives of the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm, which was launched in 2017.