Medication without Harm

Quality & Monitoring Directorate of Indus Hospital & Health Network celebrated World Patient Safety Day from September 1 – September 17, 2022, with the theme “Medication without Harm” as proposed by World Health Organization. During this celebration, various activities were arranged to create awareness among staff, patients, and their families regarding the safe use of medicines in their daily lives.

To promote the safe use of medicines among staff, awareness messages regarding medication safety and its importance were displayed on the HMIS system every day. To test staff knowledge regarding patient safety, a daily online quiz competition was arranged as well.

Moreover, a group of assessors from Pharmacy, Nursing Education Services, and Quality Improvement & Patient Safety department, visited each in-patient unit to conduct Medication Safety Lightning Rounds. The units were assessed on medication safety Audit tool sheet and Clinical Staff knowledge. Emergency Services-Adult, Pharmacy Services, and Neonatology Team-SSMC, were announced as the Medication Safety Champions for the year 2022. Additionally, in order to highlight staff quality and safety improvement work recognition, an intercampus patient safety project competition was conducted in which a total of 14 posters were submitted.

To engage patients as active stakeholders of medication safety, awareness sessions were held for patients and their families in in-patient and out-patient departments. A series of patient safety videos focused on medication safety were also displayed on LED screens at IHHN Hospitals.

High-alert medications (HAM) carry a higher risk of harm than other medications therefore errors in the administration of HAM can have catastrophic outcomes. Keeping this in mind, a self-paced online learning module was launched with the title “Safety of High Alert Medications” which will provide healthcare professionals a platform to learn about the significance of proper HAM administration.

To conclude the celebration, a Virtual Conference was conducted on September 17, 2022 – World Patient Safety Day, in which speakers from Nursing Services, Pharmacy and international speakers were invited to shed light on the topic of Medication safety.