King Abdalziz Hospital - Ministry National Guard – Health Affairs - Al Ahsa held the “Medication Safety Awareness Day”. This Awareness day aims to spread awareness among patients, visitors and even employees about the necessity of being fully aware of how to use medications regardless of the type and the usage”, according to Dr. Ahmad Al Arfaj, the Regional Executive Director in the Eastern Region.
Dr. Ahmad Al Arfaj also pointed out that the event started with a specialized lecture about the safety of using medications and how to prevent its complications, especially allergy medications. The lecture further discussed all aspects and details of this issue and provided statistics of the training course for medication safety which are obligatory to all medical practitioners.
Moreover, such event targets medical practitioners in order to be fully aware about the internationally agreed upon safety methods to achieve the objective of this course; which is the safety of the patients”. He add: “this events is a result of a continues related series of activities and programs to provide the employees which in turn reflect on the services provided to our patients.
Head of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Ali Alshehri indicated that “the activity is not only limited to intensive medical specialized lectures but also to conduct an awareness exhibition that covers most of the specialized aspects of medications safety , in addition to spreading awareness amongst patients and visitors of the best way to use them”.
According to Dr. Alshehri, the exhibition targeted “the patients, visitors and also employees in which they had access to safety and quality which was designed especially for medical practitioners to achieve the highest quality levels in medication safety”. He also add: “There was another corner for the pharmacy that covered rising awareness in regards to medications allergies , the related common mistakes,
Moreover, the Diabetes Division educated the visitors of the proper ways of using Insulin and diabetes associated medications, and the common mistakes that the diabetic patient is exposed to., and as for the Cardiology Department, it, covered blood pressure diseases and made on-site random screening for the visitors that showed that several patients suffered from blood pressure without their knowledge which made them more exposed to high risks. After that, necessary medical guidelines were offered to them along with referring them to specialists to start a treatment plan”.
As for the Medication Safety Department, they provided tips and advice on the ways to preserve medications and the mistakes patients make on a daily basis such as cancer patients who expose themselves to direct sun light which in turn might affect them negatively and increase the risks of this deadly disease. The exhibition was concluded with a medical education corner that provided final advice and tips for the visitors.