Urgent action is needed to combat patient harm, which causes millions of preventable deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization.
At least five patients die every minute due to unsafe care, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said in a Sept. 12 press release.
"No one should be harmed while receiving healthcare," he said. "We need a patient safety culture that promotes partnership with patients, encourages reporting and learning from errors, and creates a blame-free environment where health workers are empowered and trained to reduce errors."
The WHO is calling on countries to increase their investments and efforts toward reducing patient harm. As part of this campaign, the organization is hosting the first-ever World Patient Safety Day Sept. 17.
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