The cost of drug errors has been estimated at US$ 42 billion yearly globally, making them a primary cause of damage and preventable harm in healthcare systems.
In high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries, respectively, 7 and 10 out of every 100 hospitalized patients contract a healthcare-associated infection.
Up to 25% of patients experience difficulties as a result of unsafe surgical care methods. Every year, over 7 million surgical patients experience serious problems, and 1 million of them pass away during or right after an operation.
A burden of harm estimated at 9.2 million years of life lost to disability and death worldwide (known as Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)) is attributed to unsafe injection practices in healthcare settings, which can spread diseases like HIV and hepatitis B and C and directly endanger patients and healthcare professionals.
In outpatient care settings, 5% of individuals experience diagnostic mistakes, of which more than half have the potential to be seriously harmful. In most cases, a diagnostic error will occur within a person's lifespan.
