Patient safety is always top of mind for us at Essential Medical Products. As such, we’re proud to talk about Canadian Patient Safety Week (October 29 to November 2, 2018), and this year the campaign is focusing on medication safety and reducing medication errors across Canada.
According to the Patient Safety Institute, preventable medication hospitalizations cost over $140 million in direct and indirect costs! Globally this cost is over $55 billion!
The medication crisis is very serious and is especially prevalent in the elderly population:
- 37% of seniors in Canadian provinces were given a prescription that was not safe for their age
- 66% of seniors take at least five medications
- 27% of seniors take 10 or more medications
- One in 143 seniors were hospitalized due to harmful effects of their medications (2016)
This national patient safety campaign started in 2005 to jumpstart and motivate the healthcare community to improve patient safety and quality. It’s not just something for healthcare institutions and staff. Everyone is part of our healthcare system so by working together we can raise awareness, and generate new innovations and ideas to make Canada a safer place.
In the spirit of Canadian Patient Safety Week, look for and participate in social posts using the hashtags #NotAllMedsGetAlong and #asklistentalk.
Even if we all take little steps to make the Canadian health and medical system a safer place for everyone, we can make a huge difference. Learn more about Canadian Patient Safety Week.