Medication management refers to the safe, clinically effective and economic use of medicines to ensure that people using health and social care services get the maximum benefit from the medicines they need, while at the same time minimising potential harm.

Medication safety involves giving the right person the right medication in the right dose at the right time and by the correct route.

In line with the relevant national standards, service providers are expected to have arrangements in place to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines, including assessing, prescribing, dispensing, administering, documenting, reconciling, reviewing and assisting people with their medications. The Authority has produced this guidance to aid service providers in achieving this. In Ireland, the medication incidents most commonly reported to the Clinical Indemnity Scheme (CIS) in 2012 were medication reconciliation incidents.