Public Attitudes towards Medicinal Waste and Medicines Reuse in a ‘Free Prescription’ Healthcare System

Abstract

This study investigates public attitudes towards medicinal waste and medicines reuse within a ‘free prescription’ healthcare system. A quantitative online survey was employed in a sample drawn from the population of Wales, where prescription medicines have been ‘free’ since 2007. Qualitative interviews informed the content of the attitude statements with categorical or ordinal response options assigned. The questionnaire was hosted on the HealthWise Wales platform for 1 year from October 2017. Of the 5584 respondents, 67.2% had at least one medicine on repeat prescription. Overall, 89.1% held strong concerns about medicinal waste. High acceptance for the reuse of prescription medicines which have been returned unused by patients to pharmacies was reported for tablets (78.7%) and capsules (75.1%) if the medicine is checked by a pharmacist first (92.4% rated essential). Concerns identified related to tampering of packs (69.2%) and the need for hygienic storage (65.4%). However, those working in healthcare had less concern about the safety of reusing medicines. The level of public acceptance for the reuse of medication was higher than previously reported. This is the largest survey to capture these views to date, which has implications for the future design of medicines reuse schemes.

An Efficient Smart Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology Framework to Assess the Quality of Returned Medication through Non-Intrusively Recording Storage Conditions after Dispensation

“…These studies were carried out between 2016 and 2021 and were composed of two originating from the Netherlands and seven from the UK. Three of the studies focused specifically on the opinions of professionals in the field of pharmacy (including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and industry representatives) [57,67,70], seven were available for the members of the public [56,57,62,63,68,71,72], with one study gathering opinions from both groups [57]. The sample sizes in these papers ranged from 19 to 5584.…”

“…The sample sizes in these papers ranged from 19 to 5584. With four studies having a sample size of over 1000 [56,63,68,71]. The most commonly used method of primary data collection was through a questionnaire, used by five papers.…”

Cost Savings and Waste Reduction Through Redispensing Unused Oral Anticancer Drugs

“…This idea is supported by patients, health care professionals, and policymakers because it could prevent the disposal of millions of unused drugs, saving costs and reducing environmental pollution by drugs. Nevertheless, uncertainties regarding drug quality due to storage of drugs at patients’ homes challenges the implementation of this possible solution …”

“…Nevertheless, uncertainties regarding drug quality due to storage of drugs at patients' homes challenges the implementation of this possible solution. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Sensing technologies and sealed packaging could be used to ensure that only unopened and intact drugs that meet all pharmaceutical quality standards are redispensed. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] This requires an investment; thus, the benefits of waste reduction must outweigh the costs to contribute to affordability of drugs.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10][11] Sensing technologies and sealed packaging could be used to ensure that only unopened and intact drugs that meet all pharmaceutical quality standards are redispensed. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] This requires an investment; thus, the benefits of waste reduction must outweigh the costs to contribute to affordability of drugs.…”