World Patient Safety Day 2022
World Patient Safety Day 2022 is this year’s September 17, 2022. The WHO (World Health Organization) has made this year’s World Patient Safety Day theme “Medication Without Harm.” The harm caused by medication being taken incorrectly is a problem all over the world. It is estimated that USD 42 billion annually is spent to resolve these issues.
Let's look at how the WHO is addressing this rising issue.
The information on the chart is pretty straightforward. It looks like there needs to be more education all the way around.
Being a mental health patient is, at times, confusing when it comes to taking medications. Psychiatric drugs (really all medications) need to be handled correctly. I am personally not a fan of taking my medication. I do because my body needs it, but I would rather live without it.
We need more education on administering prescriptions, so let’s look at some good practices. Some of these instructions are very basic but should be explained because maybe someone just does not know how to take the medication correctly. They are always good reminders too! I am not trying to write a fluff article. I genuinely care about people and hope these easy-to-follow steps will help someone.
- Follow the instructions
- Take it at the same time every day.
- Use the correct dose every time (don’t skip doses)
- Be sure to tell your doctor if you are having a problem.
- Tell your doctor if you take over-the-counter medication, use alcohol, tobacco, or recreational drugs
- Never stop taking it unless your doctor says to stop.
- Do not share with anyone.
As I mentioned, these are basic instructions, and I just want to add a little.
Following instructions mean ALL OF IT. If your medication could say drink 8oz of water with it or take with food, don’t go out in the sun (seriously! one of mine said this!) Instructions also tell you how much to take and at what time.
You take medicine at the same time every day to get the correct amount in a 24-hour time frame. If you were to take your medication at 6 am on Monday and then not take it until noon on Tuesday, your body would have been without the correct dose for six hours. If you do not take it simultaneously, you can develop resistance to it, and then it will not work at all.
You want to be sure to tell your doctor about other things you take, including over-the-counter vitamins and supplements. Vitamins can change your medication’s effectiveness, but some can not be taken together at all.
A fabulous website and phone app can tell you if your medications interact with each other, and it includes different foods and vitamins on your list. It is drugs.com. You can add all your information to a list and save it to use later if medications are added. The tools at the site have been so helpful to me. I came to know that my medications were being altered by caffeine. I stopped drinking it, and my medicine works a lot better now!
Don’t share. I understand wanting to help your friend or family member who might be out of their medication or want them to try yours to see if it helps them. I really get this. Resist because it is not really helping that person and can harm you. If your friend is out of medication, they might be taking theirs incorrectly. If you give them yours, it is encouraging them to keep doing this, and you will not have your correct dose. Giving them something to try could seriously hurt them too. What if they are allergic to it? You will not know if something else they take interacts either. It is not a good idea!
World Patient Safety Day might seem like an ordinary day to you, but it is an excellent reminder to take your medication correctly. I hope all my friends and family are following safe practices!
I am going to pop a survey in here. I guarantee that no one (not even me) can see your results. The results do not collect anything from you except someone has clicked an answer, so please feel safe in answering.
Please share my post! Let’s get the word out about World Patient Safety Day 2022!!
10 Responses
Great post and a good reminder for all. I’m not on medication for mental health, but I am for chronic illness, and I hear you when you say you would rather not be on it, but take it because it helps.
Taking it properly is so important and like you mention even not all vitamins mix well with some. I think it’s awesome you said all of this.
Thank you so much Amanda! The link I left for Drugs.com was a lifesaver to me! I also learned that I shouldn’t eat grapefruit and that my caffeine intake was not good! Since making these changes I can tell my medication is working so much better!
Wow this is really an interesting read. Thank you soo much for always creating great content! Always!
Thank you so much Whitney!! This post was really fun to write!
thank you for highlighing and sharing this! i usually am good at taking it every day but need to get better at taking it at the right time. thanks for highlighting!
Thank you! I totally understand!I have a hard times with times too!! I always want to sleep in sometimes
I’ve literally never heard about this day before. Learned a lot from reading! Very informative post. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Liv!! Thank you!! To be honest, I didn’t know about it either. I wrote another post about Suicide prevention day and when I was looking for the date I came across this! Thank you for your kind comment
I don’t support taking medication as well. This is interesting to know and the chart. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much!!!