Patient’s medication return study / Norhasliza Hashim

There is increasing concern regarding the fate and effects of the medicines compounds on the environment. The reasons patients return unused drugs to pharmacies have been explored. The study focuses on patient’s explanations for not returning medication; being categorized as: excessive supply, expired medicines, changes in medical condition, other changes in patient circumstances, or the repeat medicines policy at the surgery and also patient’s death. This study was undertaken to investigate the household habits of storage and disposal of unused medicines. The aims of the original study are to increase the awareness of the public on the effects of indiscriminate disposal of medicines on the environment and at the same time achieving improved standards of pharmaceutical care since the cases of medicine poisoning have also seen rapid increase yearly, especially among children. The Pharmacy Department of Putrajaya Hospital took the initiative to conduct this study with the aim that it will increase public awareness on the storage, disposal and environment issues relating to their medicines. A programme called “Return Unwanted Medicines for Disposal” was conducted for six months beginning on the 1st September 2007 and ending on the 29th February 2008. This was a prospective, single- centered and an observational study conducted among patients and hospital staffs who returned their unwanted medicines voluntarily at Putrajaya Hospital ffom September 2007. Posters and bunting were displayed at several places in the hospital compound. Members of the public who returned unwanted medicines were asked to fill up a questionnaire. This programme managed to receive responses ffom 100 patients. The study indicated that the need for an appropriate method and disposal of unwanted medication are very important to prevent and to avoid any unwanted incidents such as medication poisoning.