WHO Calls for Urgent Action to Reduce Patient Harm

The World Health Organization (WHO) is focusing global attention on the issue of patient safety and launching a campaign in solidarity with patients on the very first World Patient Safety Day on 17 September. WHO is prioritizing patient safety as a global health priority and urging patients, healthcare workers, policy makers and health care industry to “Speak up for patient safety!”. Cities around the world will light up monuments in orange color to show their commitment to safety of patients. These include the Jet d’Eau in Geneva, the Pyramids in Cairo, the Kuala Lumpur Tower, The Royal Opera House in Muscat, and the Zakim bridge in Boston among others.

Millions of patients are harmed each year due to unsafe health care worldwide, resulting in 2.6 million deaths annually in low-and middle-income countries alone. Most of these deaths are avoidable. The personal, social and economic impact of patient harm leads to losses of trillions of US dollars worldwide.

“No one should be harmed while receiving health care. Andyet globally, at least five patients die every minute because of unsafe care,”said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “We need a patient safetyculture that promotes partnership with patients, encourages reporting andlearning from errors, and creates a blame-free environment where health workersare empowered and trained to reduce errors."

Four out of every 10 patients are harmed during primary andambulatory health care. The most detrimental errors are related to diagnosis,prescription and the use of medicines. Medication errors alone cost anestimated US$ 42 billion annually. Unsafe surgical care procedures causecomplications in up to 25 percent of patients, resulting in 1 million deathsduring or immediately after surgery annually.

Patient harm in health care is unacceptable. WHO is callingfor urgent action by asking countries and partners around the world to reducepatient harm in health care. Patient safety and quality of care are essentialfor delivering effective health services and achieving universal healthcoverage.

Investment in improving patient safety can lead tosignificant financial savings. The cost of prevention is much lower than thecost of treatment due to harm. As an example, in the US alone, focused safetyimprovements led to an estimated US$28 billion in savings in Medicare hospitalsbetween 2010 and 2015.

Greater patient involvement is the key to safer care.Engaging patients can reduce the burden of harm by up to 15 percent, savingbillions of dollars each year.