Medicine: Waste not, want not…and take the right dosage
Medicine waste in the UK is a major issue. The Department of Health says that in England alone, unused prescription medicines cost the NHS around £300 million each year. If you add in costs of wasted medicines in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, this figure rises to around £400 million annually.
The cost of wasted medicines is staggering, but it’s also important to remember that unused prescription drugs can mean that some patients aren’t taking their medicines properly, which in turn may lead to more medical intervention being required – adding extra costs.
It’s up to all of us – patients, GPs, care homes, social services, hospitals, pharmacists – to be more responsible with medicines. And those of us with elderly parents, many of whom have multiple medicines on repeat prescription, can help make sure they’re getting the right medicines at the right times.
Waste goes up in smoke
Most people are aware that you can return unused medicines to your pharmacist. However, few people are aware that, by law, pharmacists are not allowed to recycle or re-use even unopened and within-dates medicines. Instead, unused (and costly) prescription medicines are collected from pharmacies and incinerated. Tonnes of expensive medicines every year literally go up in smoke.
Causes of medicine waste
Of the £300 million-worth of medicine wasted in England every year, the Department of Health estimates that £150 million (that’s half) is avoidable. Research shows that between 30% and 50% of patients do not take their prescribed medicines properly and often do not complete a course of treatment. It seems that around half of all medicines returned to pharmacies are unopened, which indicates that people are ordering medicines they don’t use.
Other causes of medicine waste include:
- treatments being stopped because they’re not working or cause side effects
- unnecessary prescriptions following a stay in hospital
- problems associated with repeat prescriptions (some people may ‘stockpile’ medicines).
Less waste could mean more treatments
At a time where the NHS is struggling with funding, it’s important to remember that savings made by reducing medicine waste could be reinvested into providing more front line care and services.
Medicine Waste UK estimates that the NHS could potentially use the £300 million to pay for important and health services including:
- 80,906 more hip replacements
- 101,351 more knee replacements
- 19,799 more drug treatments for breast cancer
- 11,788 more community nurses
- 300,000 more drug treatments for Alzheimer’s.
NHS/Pharmacy initiatives to reduce medicine waste
The issues of pharmaceutical wastage has been recognised for many years. More than 95 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England have implemented awareness campaigns targeting GP surgeries, pharmacies and care homes, reaching both professionals and the public.The NHS has also been working with an organisation called Medicine Waste UK to raise awareness of the issue via campaigns, such as Only Order What You Need.
The campaign has three key messages:
- only order the medicines you need
- take your medicines with you into hospital
- dispose of unwanted medicines safely.
You can search the Medicine Waste UK website to check if there is a local campaign in your area and how you can get involved.
Medicine Use Reviews
Many pharmacies in England and Wales provide medicine use reviews (MUR), where patients can discuss their medications with a qualified pharmacist. Such reviews can help to reduce medicine. If your older relative has a long-term condition, an MUR could be very useful to ensure they get the right amount of medicines as they need it.
Care homes
There’s also a move to do such reviews in care homes. A Health Foundation trial project in Northumbria saw pharmacists conducting over 400 medication reviews with residents and families in care homes. One major positive outcome included an average of 1.7 medicines stopped for each resident, producing annualised savings of £77,703 (£184 per person reviewed).
Publishing costs on medicine packaging
In July 2015, the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, announced a new measure designed to encourage people to complete their full course of treatment, namely that all drugs costing more than £20 will have their price written on the packaging. And from 2016, these medicines might also carry the words “funded by the UK taxpayer” to remind people that the NHS does not have unlimited resources.
How we can help reduce medicine waste
Here are some guidelines from Medicine Waste UK to help us all reduce medical waste. You might find these helpful when dealing with your elderly parent’s prescriptions:
- If you stop taking any of your medicines, let your GP and pharmacist know as soon as possible.
- Discuss your medication with your GP or pharmacist on a regular basis.
- Before re-ordering any medicines, carefully check whether you still have some at home.
- If you don’t need the medicine, don’t order it! You can always order it later if necessary.
- Think carefully when completing a repeat prescription form and only tick those you really need.
- If you go into hospital, remember to take all your medicines with you in a clearly marked bag. (More useful advice on keeping track of your medicines here.)
- Remember: it’s not safe to share prescription medicines with anyone else.
- Always return out of date medicines to your pharmacy or dispensary for safe disposal.
- If your medicines change, return your old medicines to the pharmacy for safe disposal to avoid confusion with any new medicines.
- Don’t stockpile medication – it’s not safe and they can easily become out of date and therefore unusable.
- Always store medicines in an appropriate place, out of reach of children.
Our article Helping the elderly to take medicine safely, also has some good tips.
