Audit of returned medication and drug wastage at the Out-Patient Pharmacy of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang from September 2008 until February 2009

The medication costs comprised the most of pharmacy budgets and continue to increase faster than other health care expenditures in hospitals. Therefore, the expense associated with unused medications, leads to the interest of policymakers in finding ways to reduce medication waste. This study is focus on the returned medication at the out-patient department of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang. The period of this study is six months which started from September 2008 until February 2009. The main aim is to access the cost of the return medication at the out-patient pharmacy. The objectives are to measure the total costs that can be save by returnable medications, to identify the categories of medications most likely to be returned, and to determine the reasons behind the medication returning. In our research, the data is being collected by using simple survey forms which were given to the patients who returned the medications. The survey form needs to be answered by the patients that returned the medication for our record. The data that have been collected for 6 months were analyzed and presented accordingly. The results of this study will determine the cost of returned medication, the frequencies of the returned medication, the reasons for returning the medications and the classification of the drug. The returned medication is hoped to be further investigated in order to reduce the cost of medication and drug wastage in the hospital. The awareness among the patient should also increased by the physicians and pharmacists in order to increase the effectiveness of the medications and the quality of the patient's life.