[New initiatives to improve medication safety in hospitals].

Medication errors constitute a significant public health problem and are recognised as such nowadays among healthcare professionals, societies, authorities and international organizations. This has led to seeking and implementing effective practices focused on improving medication use safety. This article briefly describes some of the most recent initiatives promoted to prevent medication errors in the hospital setting.

[Medication errors and risk management].

Healthcare risks in general, and those related to medication errors in particular, constitute a serious problem with consequent human, medical, and economic repercussions which healthcare authorities are recognizing and addressing as priority matters in some countries. However, though the magnitude of the problem is similar in Spain, this country has yet to become fully aware of the transcendence of the situation. Risk management activities in healthcare centers are presently evolving as risk managers adopt preventive and proactive approaches requiring the collaboration of other healthcare professionals in developing risk reduction programs, including those focused on medication error prevention.