Unsafe use of medication is a major issue in healthcare in both developed and developing countries, causing millions of patient injuries and costing billions of dollars to health-care systems. 10 per cent of patients worldwide are affected due to errors in medical care, said a WHO report.

The report also estimates that in developed nation between 7.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent of patients in acute care settings and 13 per cent in ambulatory settings experience adverse drug events.

The financial burden of these errors is as high as US$ 4 billion a year, not counting lost wages, productivity or additional health-care costs. Hence this similar level of harm from unsafe medication is prevailed in both developed and developing nations which confirm that patient medication safety and quality management is a global priority.

The IIHMR University, Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur has been contributing towards this very topical issue of international importance through its flagship yearly WHO sponsored International Courses in Promoting Rational Drug Use in Communities (PRDUC) for last 11 years. Following the need of communication skills amongst the hospital pharmacists, The India Institute of Health Management and Research, University (IIHMR), Jaipur has initiated a Management Development Programme on ‘Patient Medication Safety and Communication Skills for Hospital Pharmacists’

Speaking about this Management Development Programme, Dr. SD Gupta, president, IIHMR University said, “The adverse drug events and medication errors cause significant health and economic repercussions both in developed and developing countries. Therefore a global concerted effort is needed to address patient medication safety and it needs by involving all healthcare stakeholders, including patients. Communication has become the buzzword for healthcare professionals, in part due to the overwhelming reports of medication misuse.”

“According to a healthcare research report majority of population are failing to comply some way with their medication regimens. Better communication skills in pharmacy practice enhance the pharmacist's ability to develop professional relationships with their patients, co-workers and other healthcare providers to optimize health care. To addresses the issues related to patient medication safety and medicines management, a Management Development Programme on "Patient Medication safety and Communication Skills for Hospital Pharmacist" is being organised at IIHMR from January 11-15, 2016.”

Abhishek Dadhich, assistant professor and programme co-coordinator, IIHMR University said, “This programme is designed for public health professionals and pharmacists currently holding positions of responsibility within health systems. The objective of the management development programme on 'Patient Medication Safety and Communication Skills for Hospital Pharmacists' is to enable participants understand the concepts and need of medication safety culture in organisation, develop error-reduction strategies around the use of high-alert medications, The programme enable participant to make effective communication techniques to prevent human error while patient medication is going on, The programme also focus on how to promote two-way communication with patients and health care professionals and enable participants to identify common barriers to verbal communication and describe ways to overcome each barrier.”

The programme will use a mix of lecture by resource persons to introduce the lead concept and encourage active interaction by the participants through classroom discussions, group work and presentations.