Ministry of Health: 5 people die every minute due to lack of safe medical care
On the afternoon of September 16, the Ministry of Health said that every minute, 5 people in the world die due to lack of safe medical care, of which 50% of cases are preventable.
The information was stated by Mr. Luong Ngoc Khue - Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, atRally in response to World Patient Safety Day.
"Medical incidents and unsafe medical practices harm millions of patients and cost billions of dollars each year," said Mr. Khue, adding that 14.3% of hospital costs are for treating the consequences of medical incidents. Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) also show that 12% of patients experience problems from prescriptions, of which, incorrect dosages account for more than 27%.
In Vietnam, from 2019 to August this year, 35% of hospitals nationwide implemented incident reporting. Of which, the most common incident was wrong dosage, accounting for 20% of the total number of drug incidents at central hospitals and 18.5% at provincial and city hospitals. Particularly at district hospitals, the most common incident was wrong medication, accounting for more than 23%.
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Medical staff at Cho Ray Hospital check drugs at the pharmacy warehouse, July 13, 2022. Photo: Quynh Tran |
Faced with this reality, Mr. Khue emphasized that when prescribing medicine, doctors need to prescribe the right type, the right person, and the right disease. "Medicine can only be prescribed after having the results of a medical examination and diagnosis. Prescribing medicine must be appropriate to the diagnosis and severity of the disease. Prescribing medicine must achieve the goals of safety, rationality, and effectiveness," said Mr. Khue.
When administering medication, nurses need to ensure the 5 rights, including: right patient, right medication, right dose, right route of administration, and right time. Before using medication, patients also need to know information about the medication, check the dosage and duration of use, and ask medical staff if they do not understand clearly.
Sharing the same view, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said that every person at some point in their life will have to take medicine to prevent or treat diseases. However, medicine sometimes causes serious harm if it is not stored, prescribed, dispensed, used properly or not monitored properly. Therefore, Ms. Huong said that patient safety must be the top priority of the health sector.
