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Dealing with the drug disposal dilemma

PPS Alert for Long-Term Care, December 1, 2009

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to PPS Alert for Long-Term Care.

Medications dispensed to long-term care facilities can go unused for a variety of reasons, such as the resident switching medications, being discharged, or passing away. Regardless of the reason, facilities are responsible for disposing of these unused medications, which is not as simple as it may seem.

“Disposing of drugs in SNFs can be a confusing process because there are no clear-cut regulations and facilities have to sift through a variety of guidance from federal, state, and local authorities, much of it conflicting,” says Joseph Gruber, RPh, CGP, FASCP, vice president and clinical products specialist at Mirixa, a medication therapy management provider headquartered in Reston, VA.

Holding on to unused medications is a diversion risk, but the conflicting guidance and strict requirements fortransporting hazardous and controlled substances limit the drug disposal options of SNFs. As a result, many facilities flush unused medications down the toilet, which contributes to the environmental problem of pharmaceutical waste in our water supply.

Until a solution is reached and coordinated guidelines are in place, many SNFs will continue to struggle with drug disposal issues. To avoid problems in the meantime, facilities should understand the various drug disposal guidelines, comply with as many as possible, and explore alternatives.

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to PPS Alert for Long-Term Care.

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