Summary:

Listen in with Dr.Frank Breve, PharmD, MBA, President and CEO at Opioid Consulting Educational Solutions, as he covers Medication Disposal Best Practices. There is a lot of pressure on pharmacists to get medications out to patients but not enough on the severity of consequences if not disposed of properly.

One thing that can have the biggest impact is education of not only the side-effects and usage of the medication but the importance of proper disposal after usage, so they do not fall into the hands of unintended users such as children and teens. Placing a note at the bottom of prescription papers describing how to dispose of medications properly so they are non-retrievable as well as verbal advising can go a long way in terms of the issues outlined above.

When looking at the environmental factors today, we are in a time where there are huge emphasis’s on pollution with new EPA regulations every year. However, they are still telling people to simply flush medications down the toilet. Many hospitals are still squirting drugs into paper towels and throwing them away or just flushing them down the toilet. EPA has put in place a law that specifically restricts sewering. Get a better understanding of Inspections and Regulatory Compliance, Policy and Procedure Development and Review, Drug diversion analysis and more.