In April 2017, World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global initiative to reduce severe, avoidable medication-associated harm in all countries by 50% over the next 5 years. The Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety aims to address the weaknesses in health systems across the world.
Medication errors can be caused by health worker fatigue, overcrowding, staff shortages, poor training and the wrong information being given to patients, among other reasons. Multiple interventions to address the frequency and impact of medication errors have already been developed.
In Italy all the Regions put in place systems and procedures to ensure that the right patient receives the right medication at the right dose via the right route at the right time. Generally, they developed indicators to evaluate prescriptive appropriateness and adherence to therapy with the dual purpose to reduce the errors and to manage the healthcare expenditure.
Particularly, Emilia Romagna and AUSL Bologna developed reports, analyzed the correct prescriptions based on the Italian National Health Service Guideline and on specific populations like young people (< 18 years old) and elderly people. They also dedicated particular effort on monitoring possible interactions between drugs prescribed in co-administration with specific reports and brochures to send to all the prescribers.

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Key words: World Health Organization, medication-associated harm, prescriptive appropriateness, adherence to therapy