Browse > Article

An Investigation of Medications Returned to the Community Pharmacies through "Drug-Take Back" Program  

Chun, Pusoon (College of Pharmacy, Inje University)
Publication Information
YAKHAK HOEJI / v.58, no.2, 2014 , pp. 107-111 More about this Journal
Abstract
Unused medication disposal is a problem due to the cost of disposing as well as potential risk of inadvertent dosing. Investigating medication returns is expected to suggest areas for targeting interventions to reduce medication waste. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine types of medications and identify the expiration date of the medications returned to the community pharmacies through "Drug-Take Back" program. Method: From October 10, 2012 to November 14, 2012, the medications returned to the 58 community pharmacies in Korea were examined. Results: A total of 22,160 g of pill medications were collected; 52.8% for prescription drugs and 47.2% for non-prescription drugs, respectively. The weight of the expired pill medications was more than 5 times that of the non-expired pill medications. On the other hand, 6,168 ml of liquid medications were returned; 80.0% for prescription medication and 20.0% for non-prescription medications, respectively. Of the total oral liquid medications, the volume of the expired medications was more than 5 times that of the non-expired medications. Conclusion: The majority of medications returned to the community pharmacies were prescription drugs rather than non-prescription drugs. In addition, most of the drugs were expired when they returned.
Keywords
Drug-Take Back program; prescription medications; non-prescription medications; OTC drugs; expiration date;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Ruhoy, I. S. and Daughton, C. G. : Beyond the medicine cabinet: An analysis of where and why medications accumulate. Environment International. 34, 1157 (2008).   DOI   ScienceOn
2 Korea Zero Waste Movement Network. 가정 내 의약품의 올바른 사용과 폐의약품 회수.처리 사업 보고서. 2010.12. Available at http://www.waste21.or.kr.
3 McCauley, J. L., Back, S. E. and Brady, K. T. : Pilot of a brief, web-based educational intervention targeting safe storage and disposal of prescription opioids. Addict Behav. 38, 2230 (2013).   DOI   ScienceOn
4 소비자안전센터 소비자안전국 식의약안전팀. 일반의약품 유통관리 실태조사. p. 23 (2013. 8).
5 Coma, A., Modamio, P., Lastra, C. F., Bouvy, M. L. and Marino, E. L. : Returned medicines in community pharmacies of Barcelona, Spain. Pharm World Sci. 30, 272 (2008).   DOI
6 James, T. H., Helms, M. L. and Braund, R. : Analysis of medications returned to community pharmacies. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 43, 1631 (2009).   DOI   ScienceOn
7 Ekedahl, A. B. : Reasons why medicines are returned to Swedish pharmacies unused. Pharm World Sci. 28, 352 (2006).
8 Hawksworth, G. M., Wright, D. J. and Chrystyn, H. : A detailed analysis of day-to-day unwanted medicinal products returned to community pharmacists for disposal. J. Soc. Adm. Pharm. 13, 215 (1996).
9 Millar, J., MacKinnon, W., Struthers, M. V. and Vass, C. : A pilot study to investigate the use of installment dispensing as a method of reducing drug wastage owing to adverse drug reactions. Br. J. Gen. Pract. 53, 550 (2003).
10 Bronder, E. and Klimpel, A. : Unused drugs returned to the pharmacynew data. Int. J. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 39, 480 (2001).
11 Jarvis, C. I., Seed, S. M., Silva, M. amd Sullivan, K. M. : Educational campaign for proper medication disposal. J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 49, 65 (2009).   DOI   ScienceOn
12 De Flora, S., Bagnasco, M. and Zanacchi, P. : Genotoxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic hazards in the marine environment, with special reference to the Mediterranean Sea. Mutat Res. 258, 285 (1991).   DOI   ScienceOn
13 Daughton, C. G. : Cradle-to-Cradle stewardship of drugs for minimizing their environmental disposition while promoting human health. II. drug disposal, waste reduction, and future directions. Environ. Health Perspect. 111, 775 (2003).
14 Verlicchi, P., Al Aukidy, M. and Zambello, E. : Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatmenta review. Sci. Total Environ. 429, 123 (2012).   DOI   ScienceOn
15 Snyder, A. S., Wert, E. C., Lei, H., Westerhoff, P. and Yoon, Y. : Removal of EDCs and pharmaceuticals in drinking and reuse treatment processes (2007).
16 국립환경과학원. 잔류의약물질 분석방법 연구 및 실태조사 보고서 (II) (2009. 12).
17 국립환경과학원. 환경 중 의약물질 배출원 조사 및 거동연구 보고서 (I) (2008. 12).
18 Kim, S. D., Cho, J., Kim, I. S., Vanderford, B. J. and Snyder, S. A. : Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in South Korean surface, drinking, and waste waters. Water Res. 41, 1013 (2007).   DOI   ScienceOn
19 Oaks, J. L., Gilbert, M., Virani, M. Z., Watson, R. T., Meteyer, C. U., Rideout, B. A., Shivaprasad, H. L., Ahmed, S., Chaudhry, M. J., Arshad, M., Mahmood, S., Ali, A. and Khan, A. A. : Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan. Nature 427, 630 (2004).   DOI   ScienceOn
20 Christiansen, T., Korsgaard, B. and Jespersen, Å. : Effects of nonylphenol and 17b-oestradiol on vitellogenin synthesis, testicular structure and cytology in male eelpout zoarces viviparus. The Journal of Experimental Biology 201, 179 (1998).