Activities, structure and functions of a medication use committee in a large Swiss geriatric hospital

In hospital, sick elderly patients often receive many drugs concomitantly and are at high risk of adverse drug events. Pharmacy and therapeutics committees provide many services supporting appropriate medication management, but geriatricians are rarely mentioned in the list of specialists working in drug and therapeutics committees. This narrative review describes the activities, structure and functions of a medication use committee active for the past 12 years in a large Swiss university-affiliated geriatric in-hospital department.