Abu Dhabi Leads the Way for Regional Medication Safety Initiatives

with 6th Medication Safety Conference

Forum to address latest strategies and challenges towards safer medication management practices and introducing pharmacy practice stream for the first time

Abu Dhabi, UAE – The 6th Medication Safety Conference, the region's leading annual healthcare event focusing on eliminating medication errors will be held from 22-24 November at the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Healthcare practitioners from leading international medical centres will meet to discuss eliminating medication errors and improving patient safety during the event which comprises two days of conference and a third day of workshops. Interactive sessions including lectures, exhibitions and workshops will aid in raising awareness of medication safety standards and research done on an international scale.

The conference, which will be chaired by Dr. Sahar Abu Omar, Group Clinical Integration Director at SEHA, serves as a world-class forum focused on sharing the latest innovations in medication safety and providing a valuable opportunity for the exchange of ideas in medication safety practices.

“We are expecting more than 800 delegates from the UAE and the GCC and have brought a faculty of prominent international speakers from all over the world including the GCC, USA and the UK,” said Dr. Abu Omar.

Dr. Abu Omar also stated that this year, for the first time, the Medications Safety Conference will feature a Pharmacy Practice Stream which will run alongside the forum's programme.

Over 25 speakers will share their knowledge on the field of pharmacy and address critical subjects such as Pharmacy Practice Model, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmacy Informatics, Error Disclosure and Medication Safety in High Risk Areas, she explained.

“This new addition will serve as an opportunity for pharmacists to derive practical and hands-on learning from the world's most renowned speakers, as they provide key updates, scientific and technological advancements made in pharmacy practice,” she added.

The conference, organised by leading healthcare event organiser Synovetics, is already recognised as the first regional initiative devoted to medication safety practices, and this year it will claim another regional milestone addressing Pharmacy Practice with focus on hospital pharmacy for the first time.

“We are very proud to be the pioneers in leading and supporting the Medication Safety Conference series that was started in 2007 and has paved the way regionally for medication safety best practices and the pharmacy practice model,” said Dr. Karen Barbara Carbone, Group Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), and Honorary Conference Chair.

“In the last year, our evolution has taken the form of moving from the traditional structure of healthcare delivery to an integrated ‘Service Lines' model, and Pharmacy is following the overall SEHA strategic restructuring to move away from the drug distribution to a more patient-centred pharmacy practice model,” explained Dr. Carbone.

Following the success of the previous five instalments, the 6th Medication Safety Conference expects to attract around 1,000 healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists and nurses who will be provided with an excellent opportunity to gain from acclaimed medication safety and pharmacy practice experts from around the world.

Speakers at the conference will include Dr. Paul Abramovitz, Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Dr. Jeannell Mansur, Practice Leader for Medication Safety at Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Dr. Ahmed H. Aljedai, Director of Pharmaceutical Care Division at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, KSA.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours can be secured by the participants as the event has been accredited by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education of the United States of America (ACPE) for 25.2 CME hours.

The conference also serves as a platform for delegates, with the opportunity to network on a regional basis, and update their knowledge in key pharmacy practice and medication safety areas.

For further information, and to register for the conference, logon to www.medicationsafetyconference.com, or call Synovetics at 02-443-4331.