World Patient Safety Day: Safety is About Partnership

Patient safety is the foundation of quality healthcare, ensuring individuals receive the correct treatment in a safe environment. In today’s healthcare landscape, safety is more than just a protocol – it’s a shared responsibility between patients, healthcare providers, and pharmacovigilance professionals. World Patient Safety Day, celebrated annually on September 17th, emphasizes this collective effort and has evolved into a powerful platform for raising awareness, promoting safety practices, and preventing harm.

Origins and Evolution of World Patient Safety Day

World Patient Safety Day was officially launched in 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of its Global Patient Safety Action Plan (2021 – 2030). However, the journey towards patient safety as a global priority began long before that. A pivotal moment was the release of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report, To Err is Human, which revealed shocking statistics: tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year due to medical errors in the United States.

This report sparked a worldwide movement toward patient safety initiatives, from reporting systems for adverse events to specialized training for healthcare professionals. By 2019, these efforts culminated in World Patient Safety Day, a recognition that patient safety is a global issue demanding collective solutions.

Patient Safety and Pharmacovigilance: A Partnership Approach

While World Patient Safety Day focuses on systemic improvements, the role of pharmacovigilance in patient safety must be considered. In the evolving landscape of healthcare, drug safety is no longer the sole responsibility of professionals – it requires collaboration with patients, who offer unique insights into the real-world effects of medications. This partnership extends the core message of World Patient Safety Day, emphasizing that proactive solutions require input from all stakeholders.

Empowering Patients in Pharmacovigilance

Patients’ experiences, both positive and adverse, are crucial to understanding the safety profile of drugs in the real world. Yet, barriers such as lack of awareness or difficulties in reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can prevent patients from contributing to pharmacovigilance efforts. On World Patient Safety Day, it’s essential to spotlight the importance of empowering patients to participate actively in drug safety reporting.

Simplifying the ADR reporting process through user-friendly apps, community outreach, and patient education programs can help bridge the gap. By making it easier for patients to report their experiences, healthcare systems can build a more comprehensive safety net.

Key Themes of World Patient Safety Day

World Patient Safety Day focuses on healthcare systems’ specific challenges in ensuring safety each year. Past themes, such as “Safe Maternal and Newborn Care” in 2021, highlight areas where improvements can lead to life-saving results.

In 2024, the theme is “Improving Diagnosis for Patient Safety,” with the slogan “Get it right, make it safe!” This theme highlights the crucial role of accurate and timely diagnoses in ensuring patient safety and improving health outcomes.

A diagnosis is essential for identifying a patient’s health problem and accessing the proper care and treatment. However, diagnostic errors – such as delayed, incorrect, or missed diagnoses – can have serious consequences. These errors occur when there is a failure to provide a correct and timely explanation of a patient’s condition or to communicate this information effectively to the patient.

Collaborative Frameworks for Safety

In pharmacovigilance, we increasingly recognize that “safety is about partnership. Pharmacovigilance professionals work with healthcare providers to analyze patient-reported outcomes, clinical data, and post-marketing surveillance. However, for this collaboration to be effective, patients must actively participate as partners.

Structured frameworks such as patient advisory panels, improved data-sharing platforms, and direct engagement through surveys or focus groups can build a strong foundation for collaboration. This approach can identify emerging safety concerns early and contribute to more accurate risk assessments.

Looking Ahead: A Shared Responsibility

World Patient Safety Day is more than just an annual event – it’s a reminder of the collective responsibility to create safer healthcare systems. The future of safety in healthcare and pharmacovigilance lies in building partnerships that value the perspectives of both patients and professionals. This shared responsibility fosters a culture of safety that is proactive rather than reactive, ensuring that risks are minimized before they result in harm.

World Patient Safety Day is a call to action for healthcare professionals and patients. It recognizes that improving patient safety is an ongoing commitment driven by collaboration, transparency, and a shared dedication to reducing harm.