Preventable medication harm across health care settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis (6 November 2020)

Summary

This study in BMC Medicine aimed to quantify the prevalence, severity and type of preventable medication harm across medical care settings. It is the largest meta-analysis to assess preventable medication harm to date.

The authors found that one in 30 patients are exposed to preventable medication harm in medical care, and more than a quarter of this harm is considered severe or life-threatening. Their results support the World Health Organization’s priority of detecting and mitigating medication-related harm and highlight other potential intervention targets that should be a priority research focus.