Errors in clinics and hospitals kill 2.5 million people annually

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2.6 million people die annually from unintentional errors in clinics and hospitals worldwide.

The WHO released the data on the occasion of the International Patient Safety Day.

"Four out of ten patients experience some form of adverse event from treatment in outpatient and primary healthcare facilities, and 134 million adverse drug reactions are recorded annually in hospitals in middle- and low-income countries," the report stated.

It adds that according to epidemiological data, unintentional harm to patients due to errors during hospital treatment occurs in 8 to 12 percent of hospitalized patients. A large number of such cases can be prevented," the World Health Organization believes.

The WHO is an organization that is launching a global campaign to raise awareness about patient safety and create safe healthcare.

According to the WHO, clear guidelines, good organization, employment of qualified healthcare professionals, and effective patient involvement in their own health care are important for safe healthcare, given that surveys indicate an insufficient or problematic level of health literacy among about half of surveyed Europeans.

According to the analysis, lower health literacy is associated with riskier health choices (such as smoking), a higher number of workplace accidents, poorer management of chronic diseases (such as diabetes, HIV infection, and asthma), poorer adherence to prescribed therapy, increased hospitalization, and more frequent premature death.

Patients, according to the WHO, must be allowed to freely ask doctors and nurses anything they do not understand, comprehend, or are interested in. Data shows that 60 percent of surveyed individuals do not understand instructions on taking prescribed medication immediately after a doctor's visit, and in the European Union, an average of 548 people die daily due to incorrect medication use.