Medication safety in polypharmacy: technical report

Overview

As part of the Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm, WHO has asked countries and key stakeholders to prioritize three areas for strong commitment, early action and effective management to protect patients from harm while maximizing the benefit from medication, namely:

• medication safety in transitions of care
• medication safety in polypharmacy
• medication safety in high-risk situations

Medication safety in polypharmacy

As the population ages more people are likely to suffer from multiple long term illness and take multiple medications. It is essential to therefore take a person-centred approach to ensure that the medications are appropriate for the individual to gain the most benefits without any harm. This reports highlights importance of leadership in nurturing a culture that priorities safety and quality of prescribing, provides guidance on prioritising patients for medication review, the role of the patient and the importance of a multi-professional team across the health and care system, including policy makers. Included in the report are tools and case studies which illustrate a systematic approach that can be followed by all health care professionals and the patient, across the health and care system to ensure that patients are integral to the decisions about their medications and feel supported to do so.