Let common sense prevail

In Opinion

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Last month, the National Pharmacy Association graphically highlighted the huge volume of medicines waste – that’s right, the equivalent of 3,000 2015 Ford Fiestas each year – reported by ICBs in England, and proposed that more medicines reviews could help reduce this complete waste of money. It also advised patients not to over-order medicines and to request repeat prescriptions only when they are needed, rather than making ‘just in case’ orders.

But this isn’t just a patient issue. Everyone in the supply chain needs to consider their role and the steps they can take to avoid this problem and the behaviours involved – from prescribing, dispensing and reordering to returning unused medicines. We also need to be sensible and allow pharmacy teams to re-dispense unused, sealed medicines that have been returned by patients.

I know, I know: hold your hands up in horror. I don’t mean things that have been squashed down the back of the sofa for years, have fallen into the loo or been for a trip in the microwave. I think pharmacy teams might be capable of assessing whether it is appropriate to reuse a pack of medicines.

A simple process could ensure pharmacies are compensated if they participate in the scheme. Of course, safeguards and restrictions would need to be in place, but surely this is doable. It is indefensible to continue to bin expensive, intact boxes of medicines that we all know are perfectly safe to reuse.

Anyone who has worked in a pharmacy will have experienced the bewilderment of patients who, in good faith, have returned medicines unopened (expecting them to be re-used) and been told that they will have to be destroyed.

So it is time for some serious introspection, patient education, system improvement and common sense. This is an issue community pharmacy can directly influence – for the benefit of everyone.