[Assessment, frequency, causes, and prevention of medication errors - a critical analysis].

Medication errors are responsible for up to 50% of errors in healthcare. Therefore, they are an important target for the improvement of patient safety. The application of evidence-based methods for the analysis of institution-specific medication safety hotspots is crucial. Recommended methods for the identification of medication safety problems have individual strengths and weaknesses, but there is little overlap. Consequently, a combination of methods is recommended. While the analysis of critical incident reporting systems preferentially identifies serious medication errors, trigger tool represents an effective and cost-efficient approach. Evidence-based data for improvement methods is limited. However, the implementation of clinical pharmacy services, IT tools (electronic prescribing, barcoding) and standardized double-check showed a significant impact on error reduction. In addition, the support of institutional leadership is an important prerequisite.