[Improving medication safety]

Abstract

Drug treatment is beneficial in most patients but can also cause adverse events and death. Since preventable adverse drug events are a relevant cause of morbidity and mortality, strategies for improving medication safety are warranted. Studies demonstrate that system failure is the most relevant cause of preventable adverse drug events, with prescribing errors being the most relevant. Lack of information either about the patient, the functioning of a patient's organs and concurrent medications, or about the prescribed drug, its correct dosing, contraindications and drug interactions often lead to preventable adverse drug events. International studies show that medication errors result in more people dying than from traffic accidents. Therefore, in addition to the safety of the drug, it is necessary that the safety of the process of drug treatment must be taken care of. This is called medicine safety. In order to improve medicine safety, it is necessary to consider the organization of the medication process, instead of looking for an individual to blame. The goal of the "Action Plan for Medication Safety in Germany" ("Aktionsplan Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit für Deutschland") from the Federal Ministry of Health is to optimize patient safety in drug treatment by the joint efforts of physicians, pharmacists, patients, and politicians.