How To Elevate The Voice Of Patients In The Safe Use Of Drugs?

World Pati nt Saf ty Day is dedicated to the theme “Engaging pati nts for pati nt saf ty” and the slogan “El vat th voic of pati nts”.

In the medical industry, the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ itself highlights the principle of “First, do no harm,” which is the foundational principle of patient safety. Patients are no longer regarded as passiv b n ficiari s of medical care but rath r as activ participants and collaborators in nsuring th ir own saf ty and w ll-b ing. Patient safety is a fundamental l m nt of health care that aims to protect patients from unnecessary or potential harm associat d with r c iving m dical attention and r duction of it to an acc ptabl minimum. Prof. L. Srinivas from the GITAM School of Pharmacy estimates suggest that in d v lop d, countries 1 in 10 patients ar harm d while receiving hospital care, and out of 100 patients, 7 in developed and 10 in d v loping countries will acquir healthcare associated inf ctions (HAIs).

Patient Safety Errors

Prof. P. Rama Rao from the GITAM School of Pharmacy shares that patient safety rrors can be mitigated by impl m nting quality assurance practices that hav b n succ ssful in other industries, incorporating n w t chnologi s, ensuring th ongoing ducation of h althcar staff, and establishing robust rror r porting syst ms. This comprehensive approach should involve th d v lopm nt of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for various aspects of patient care, including handling, diagnosis, and tr atm nt. It should also ncompass th promotion of practices lik hand hygiene and oth r univ rsal pr cautions, th provision of ch cklists, the prud nt us of m dications, th training of h althcar prof ssionals, th enhancement of h althcar infrastructur , th impl m ntation of a hospital accr ditation program, and the dissemination of awar n ss among pati nts. Th s etiquettes are low-cost interventions that help to reduce additional h althcar costs.

The primary action areas for Global Pati nt Saf ty ncompass include:

Promoting public and patient awareness regarding healthcare and related policies.
Encouraging th adoption of saf h althcar polici s and practic s by all m mb rs of soci ty.
Empow ring patients and their families to contribute to healthcare nhanc m nt activ ly.
Advocating for th immediate alignm nt of pati nts and famili s with th Global Action Saf ty Plan 2021-2030.

Ev n though many data management systems xist th r is littl docum ntation on rrors, n glig nc , HAI’s, adverse v nts, tc., n w r challenges are also emerging in th health s ctor space such as online pharmacies and telemedicine and the n d for their r gulation also, the patients n d to show up and r port th adv rs v nts to the concerned authorities.

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In Th Mod rn Cont xt

Patient safety has the potential to transform health by managing data, r ducing rrors, enhancing diagnosis and improving tr atm nt outcomes. AI-based models can be used for predictive analytics, saf ty-m dication, workflow optimization, fraud detection and adapt to improve accuracy and effectiveness over time.

Globally

The h althcar sector is majorly regulated by th privat entities lik th insuranc companies, which control th H althcar Syst m by monitoring th doctors and other h althcar provid rs such as in th US. In India, th health syst m is r gulat d by both th Government, which forms and r forms polici s and th Privat s ctor which provides insurance coverage. Having a singl private ntity to control th H althcar syst m can provid b tt r patient safety by regulating th healthcare provid rs, the spurious medications and also reporting of th adv rs events caused due to various n glig nc s or rrors.