Alert for incorrect use of medications

• April 28, 2024

The WHO has alerted: more than 50% of medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and half of ill people take them incorrectly.

The world body states that the excessive, insufficient or undue use of medicines has harmful effects on people's health and constitutes a waste of resources.

In addition, insists the WHO , more than half of the countries do not apply basic policies to promote the rational use of drugs.

Among the most frequent problems, WHO notes: the consumption of too many drugs (polypharmacy) , excessive use of antibiotics and injections ; prescription not adjusted to clinical guidelines and the self-medication inappropriate

In developing countries, the proportion of patients treated according to clinical guidelines is less than 40% in the public sector and 30% in the private sector, for example: the proportion of children with acute diarrhea who receive the necessary oral rehydration is less than 60%

More than 40% receive unnecessary antibiotics. Between 50 and 70% of people with pneumonia are treated with antibiotics appropriate, while 60% of patients with viral upper respiratory infections receive antibiotics unnecessary.

Consequences of imprecise use

The incorrect use of medicines occurs in all countries, which is harmful to patients and represents a serious waste of resources. The WHO believes that the consequences are serious and exemplifies:

1. The excessive use of antibiotics Increases resistance to antimicrobials, prolongs diseases and increases the number of drugs that are no longer effective in combating infectious diseases.

2. Adverse reactions to medicinal products caused by their misuse or by allergic reactions they can be a cause of illness, suffering and death.

3. Between 10 and 40% of national health budgets are spent on medicines, giving rise to waste of resources.

4. Excessive use of scarce drugs often contributes to depleting stocks and increasing prices to unaffordable levels, which undermines patient confidence.

For the WHO , an effective solution to this problem is the training and supervision of health care providers and the education of consumers.

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