• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2014

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.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.262-267
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• 2014

Unused medication disposal is a burden due to the cost of disposing as well as the cost of the drugs. Investigating medication returns is expected to suggest areas of intervention to reduce unused medications. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine types, quantity, costs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and therapeutic category of the medications returned to community pharmacies. Method: From January 15, 2014 to February 28, 2014, the medications returned to the 17 community pharmacies in Gimhae, Jinju, and Incheon, Korea were examined. The pharmacists and student volunteers worked cooperatively to identify the medications and analyze drug cost of prescription pill medications returned to the pharmacies. Results: A total of 2,720 pills of prescription medication were analyzed and 91 active pharmaceutical ingredients were identified. According to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification, the most predominant group was A (alimentary tract and metabolism) with 33.3%, followed by N (nervous system) with 15.0%. With regard to the drug cost of groups, group A was the highest with 26.6%, followed by J01 (antibacterials for systemic use) with 20.2% and N (nervous system) with 18.3%. The total cost of the oral pill prescription medications was 468,477 won. Conclusion: The result from this study implies that unused drugs impose a significant cost to the health care system in Korea. In this study, medicines used to treat gastrointestinal conditions were returned most frequently with the highest drug cost. Further research in nationwide level is necessary to establish strategies to reduce the wastage of unused medicines.