[Fostering medication safety by and for patients]

Abstract

The overall goal of all measures for medication safety is the optimization of drug treatment and the prevention of unnecessary risk that potentially endangers patients. Per definition, the goal of medication safety is a beneficial patient outcome. Particularly in primary care, the success of many medication safety strategies will depend on the active participation of patients, as in this healthcare sector the patient is responsible for many substeps of the medication process.From a healthcare systems perspective, a number of medication safety strategies have been developed that aim to support the patient in their active role in the medication process. These strategies intend to safeguard the processes of care including transfer of information, but also aim to prevent intentional and unintentional nonadherence. The prerequisites for successful implementation are targeted awareness-raising measures to sensitize all participants for potential risks in the medication process. Moreover, readily available medication safety strategies must be easily accessible and promoted both to patients and healthcare providers.

Keywords: Adherence; Medication management capacity; Medication safety; Patient perspective.