In its attempt to reduce unwarranted injuries arising due to avertable medication errors or mistreatment, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a ‘Safe Use Initiative’ aimed at increasing coordination among the country’s healthcare system, patients and drug-manufacturers.

Noting that medication blunders harm thousands of people annually, and are sometimes even fatal, the US health officials said that the FDA will work in tandem with doctors, nurses, patient groups and drug-makers to identify medicines that result in preventable complications, and initiate necessary strategies to check them.

About the Wednesday-launched coordinated effort by FDA, the agency’s commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg said: “Too many people suffer unnecessary injuries from avoidable medication misuse, errors and other problems. The FDA is launching the Safe Use Initiative to develop targeted solutions for reducing these injuries.”

Hamburg said that statistics have revealed that as many as 4 million visits to hospitals and health care clinics, leading to over 100,000 hospitalizations, per year are a result of misuse - both premeditated as well as unpremeditated - or overdose. Hamburg estimated that at least up to half of these cases might be preventable “using currently available knowledge.”

The new FDA initiative will urge manufacturers to play a notable role to minimize risks from specific medicines; and also include voluntary efforts like education campaigns to spread awareness about the mistreatment problems and address them.