PATIENT harm during healthcare is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality internationally, and incidents related to drugs are the most prevalent causes of preventable patient harm in medical care, according to a UK meta-analysis.
Data from 70 studies meeting the research criteria involved 337,025 patients to reveal that around 50% of all patient harm while in medical care was preventable.
The pooled prevalence for preventable patient harm was 6%, or more than one in 20, with 25% of those, caused by medication errors.
Other treatments accounted for 24% of preventables, with risk of harm greater in advanced specialties (intensive care or surgery) than in general hospitals.
A significant 12% of preventable harm was severe, led to permanent disability or to death, the authors of the study wrote.
"Developing and implementing evidence-based mitigation strategies specifically targeting preventable patient harm could lead to major service quality improvements in medical care which could also be more cost effective," they concluded.
CLICK HERE to access the study.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 23 Jul 19
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 23 Jul 19
