Turning waste medicines to cost savings: A pilot study on the feasibility of medication recycling as a solution to drug wastage

Toh, Ming Ren; Chew, Lita

doi:10.1177/0269216316639798

Cited by 38 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Redistributing the unused medications to those who need them may potentially reduce non-compliance and the associated healthcare costs. There was a pilot study on the feasibility of medication recycling, following certain protocols, as a solution to medication wastage conducted in Singapore (Toh & Chew 2016). This is a desirable practice and hospitals in Brunei have already practiced similar recycling through their in-patient pharmacies.…”

Section: Cost Saving From Medication Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medication Wastage and its Disposal Amongst Patients at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Brunei Darussalam

Kifli¹,

Sm²,

Wai³

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRAK Pembaziran ubat menimbulkan beban kewangan kepada ekonomi negara dan juga, implikasi alam sekitar yang berkaitan dengan pelupusan pembaziran. Kajian ini dijalankan di sebuah hospital awam di Brunei dan bertujuan untuk mengukur tahap pembaziran ubat-ubatan dan pelupusannya. Ia adalah satu kajian rentas ABSTRACTMedication wastage poses a financial burden on the nation's economy, as well as, environmental implications associated with wastage disposal. This study was conducted in a public hospital in Brunei and aimed to measure the extent of medication wastage and its disposal. This cross-sectional study used a self-designed questionnaire for patients attending outpatient pharmacy at the Suri Seri Begawan (SSB) hospital in which 253 patients participated over a period of two weeks. Exclusion criteria were: i) patients below 18 yrs, ii) patients visiting the Accident and Emergency Department and iii) patients admitted to the hospital. Majority of the participants were reported to have unused medication at home (75.1%, n=189). Nearly half (54.2%) had unused medicines and this was due to improvements in their medical conditions. Most of the participants (70.8%) were not given necessary advice on how to dispose their medicines in a proper manner. Majority disposed their unused medicines in the household garbage (70%), despite 50.2% (n=189) knowing that disposing of medicines in the garbage can cause detrimental effects on the environment. It was found that 47.7% of the participants would return their unused medicines back to the pharmacy, but in practice, only 18.6% did such. There was no significant association between knowing detrimental effects of medicine on the environment and returning their medicines to the pharmacy (p=0.065). Results showed that medication wastage exists in SSB hospital and patients' knowledge and practices on its proper disposal was relatively poor. Health policy makers should be informed to implement wastage reduction strategies.

show abstract

Section: Cost Saving From Medication Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medication Wastage and its Disposal Amongst Patients at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Brunei Darussalam

Kifli¹,

Sm²,

Wai³

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research indicates that leftover antibiotics may contribute to inappropriate antibiotic consumption hence further promoting antibiotic resistance . Drug waste may also contribute to antibiotic resistance and raise healthcare cost . Considering the prevalence of H pylori infection, arguments and the complexity for its treatment, poor accordance of registered drug packs or poor patient adherence to the treatment may contribute to antibiotic resistance and healthcare costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of registered drug packs with Maastricht V/Florence Consensus Report and national treatment guidelines for management of Helicobacter pylori infection

Jukic

Rušić

Vuković

et al. 2019

Basic Clin Pharma Tox

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, the complexity for its treatment, poor correlation of registered drug packs or poor patient adherence to the treatment may contribute to antibiotic resistance and healthcare costs. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether registered drug packs are in accordance with European and national guidelines for H pylori eradication with reference to the number of drug units. In this study, we considered treatment options for the management of H pylori infection recommended by the Maastricht V/Florence Consensus Report and by national guidelines in the United Kingdom (UK), Croatia, Italy and Slovenia for adults. Drugs proposed by the guidelines were identified in national drug databases in July of 2019. When considering correlation for 10‐day treatment regimens, drug packs registered in Croatia could not be matched with recommendations for sequential therapies. A number of proposed treatments could not be matched due to small variety of drug packs in Croatia. Drug packs registered in the UK more often matched recommended 14‐day treatment regimens and national guidelines. With reference to European guidelines, 10‐day treatments could more frequently be matched in Italy and in Slovenia. Furthermore, results of this study indicate that there is smaller variety in drug pack sizes registered in Croatia and Slovenia when compared to UK and Italy. Considering poor correlation of drug packs with treatment guidelines for H pylori, adherence to antimicrobial treatment and proper disposal of antimicrobials is warrant. Discussing adherence to antimicrobial treatment with patients should be introduced as a standard of patient care and education.

show abstract

“…The proportion of medications that was theoretically eligible for redispensing is similar to that reported by others [ 9 , 29 ]. One study found that more than 90% of returned medications were eligible for redispensing, but this study did not apply the criterion that the original outer package must be unopened and intact [ 30 ]. However, none of those studies examined determinants of returned medications that are eligible for redispensing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient and medication factors associated with preventable medication waste and possibilities for redispensing

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Knowledge on factors related to preventable medication waste and waste-reducing interventions, including redispensing unused medications, is needed to maximise effectiveness. Objective To assess patient and medication factors associated with preventable medication waste and possibilities for redispensing unused medications. Setting Dutch community pharmacies. Methods In this cross-sectional study, pharmacy-staff registered patient and medication characteristics of prescription medications returned to 41 Dutch community pharmacies during 1 week in 2014. Medications were classified as preventable waste if the remaining amount could have been prevented and as theoretically eligible for redispensing if the package was unopened, undamaged and ≥ 6 months until the expiry date. Associations were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Main outcome measures Proportion of medications classified as preventable waste and as eligible for redispensing, including factors associated with these medications. Results Overall, 279 persons returned 759 (low-cost) medications, and 39.3% was classified as preventable waste. These medications were more frequently used by men than women (OR; 1.7[1.2–2.3]) and by older (> 65 years) than younger patients (OR; 1.4[1.0–2.0]). Medications dispensed for longer periods were more often unnecessary wasted (1–3 months OR; 1.8[1.1–3.0], > 3 months 3.2[1.5–6.9]). Of all returned medications, 19.1% was eligible for redispensing. These medications were more frequently used by men than women (OR; 1.9[1.3–2.9]). Medications chronically used were more frequently eligible for redispensing than acute use (OR; 2.1[1.0–4.3]), and used for longer periods (1–3 months OR; 4.6[2.3–8.9], > 3 months 7.8[3.3–18.5]). Conclusions Over one-third of waste due to medications returned to community pharmacies can be prevented. One-fifth of returned medications can be redispensed, but this seems less interesting from an economic viewpoint.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11096-018-0642-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Turning waste medicines to cost savings: A pilot study on the feasibility of medication recycling as a solution to drug wastage

Cited by 38 publications

References 7 publications

Medication Wastage and its Disposal Amongst Patients at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Brunei Darussalam

Medication Wastage and its Disposal Amongst Patients at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Brunei Darussalam

Correlation of registered drug packs with Maastricht V/Florence Consensus Report and national treatment guidelines for management of Helicobacter pylori infection

Patient and medication factors associated with preventable medication waste and possibilities for redispensing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About