Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

An adverse drug event (ADE) is defined as an injury resulting from medical intervention(s) related to a drug. Potential ADEs, also known as ‘near misses’, are incidents that did not cause harm but had the potential to do so. On the other hand, actual ADEs involve harm caused by medication and include both adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and medication errors. Medication errors and ADEs due to medication errors are highly prevalent in varying healthcare settings. It has been reported that 5%-6% of all hospitalizations are drugs-related. ADEs represent a significant cause of injury in the inpatient and ambulatory settings, whereas the majority of ADEs are preventable. Furthermore, medication errors and ADEs have significant economic impact on patients and healthcare system. However, the economic burden is unique in LMIC in that the average health expenditure per person is significantly lower than those of Australia, UK and USA.Studies focusing on medication safety in LMIC are scarce and warrant further investigation to enrich the literature and reflect the real-world situation and suggest further actions to improve patient safety. Traditional and alternative medicine use, wide use of vaccinations to combat pandemics, limited access to medicine, poor healthcare systems, lack of monitoring and assessment of drug safety, and a lack of ADR reporting are examples of potential risks that increase the burden on patients and the healthcare system. In addition, medication errors in the...