[Risks associated with drug therapy. What do patients need to know? What can they do]

Errors can occur at any time during drug therapy. A not inconsiderable percentage of hospital admissions to internal medicine departments are caused by adverse drug events (ADEs), many of which could be avoided. Avoidable ADEs mainly result from suboptimal procedures in the medication process. In order to recognize and minimize these risks, cooperative interaction of all those involved in the medication process is required. This also includes involving patients. A plan of action to improve safety of drug therapy in Germany has recently been completed under the aegis of the Federal Ministry of Health. In a concerted effort, structures and procedures of pharmacotherapy are to be systematically analyzed and improved. The plan of action is focused on measures that can be achieved in the short term, with particular emphasis on the reduction of risks.

The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to increasing the patients' awareness for the risks associated with drug therapy and to provide suggestions of what they can do to improve the safety of their own therapy.

With relatively simple means, patients can make an important contribution to improving the safety of drug therapy. However, only a collective increased sensitization for potential medication errors can lead to a sustainable risk reduction.