Pulse CPSEA Marks World Patient Safety Day and Close of 2026 TakeCHARGE Campaign
September 17, 2026 is World Patient Safety Day, designated by the World Health Organization (WHO). This year’s focus is “NCDs” — noncommunicable conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases — which, WHO says, cause 74% of deaths globally. With some conditions such as cancer, WHO estimates that up to 1 in 3 patients experience adverse events during care.
September 17 is worth marking for another, related reason: it is the official close of the 2026 edition of TakeCHARGE Campaign: 5 Steps to Safer Health Care.
TakeCHARGE is now in its sixth year. Starting in March it encourages everyone to take five basic steps — one each month between April and August — that will help improve the safety of medical care and patient’s treatment outcomes.
Learn about the 5 Steps: https://takecharge.care/the-5-steps/.
According to Pulse president and founder Ilene Corina, BCPA, “The TakeCHARGE Campaign has proven its value in helping patients and families avoid harm from medical error. It was deployed to the thousands of staff of a major New York hospital system and was endorsed by the country’s leading healthcare accreditation body. Nearly a dozen other patient safety groups around the country partnered with us in promoting it. Anyone can qualify to become a “TakeCHARGE Ambassador” and teach others these powerful tools.”
TakeCHARGE Ambassador Marc Berlin of https://onthemarcadvocate.com/ adds, “As a Board-Certified Patient Advocate and a TakeCHARGE Ambassador, World Patient Safety Day reminds me that patient safety is not just something we talk about—it is something we practice every day and all year long. Although the 2026 TakeCHARGE Campaign officially concludes on World Patient Safety Day, the message should continue throughout the year: Be prepared. Ask questions. Speak up. TakeCHARGE of your health care—and when possible, use an advocate, be an advocate for others.
Organizations representing the disease-specific patient groups WHOs cites should be considering TakeCHARGE as an additional resource to improve patient safety and patient care.
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