Expired Medicine Project

Expired Medicine Project

The expiry date is the last day under which a medication’s efficiency and safety are by its producer. The expiration date is stated on the packaging of most drugs, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, and nutritional supplements (Alnahas, 2020). My primary purpose in this project is to improve medication quality control in ophthalmology clinics, prevent the use of multidose after their expiry date, and improve patient care. The PICOT question is; would developing a medication (dispensing) system in a clinic lead to a decrease in expired medication (drugs) use on ophthalmology patients?

Objectives

The first objective of this project is to Prevent medication-related damage or drug interactions on ophthalmology patients by 50% through proper disposal of expired medicine, conducted by the healthcare professionals after every 28 days for six months. The objective will help improve patient care and reduce medication wastage (Ebrahim, 2019). The second objective is to learn the behaviors of healthcare professionals’ disposal practices across the clinic, ensuring the expired medicine inboxes are labeled and taken to the industry for proper disposal. It is highly harmful to individuals who aren’t supposed to take certain drugs (Ebrahim, 2019). Children are especially vulnerable to having contact with incorrectly kept or disposed of medications.

 The third objective is to determine measures that pharmacists in ophthalmology clinics undertake to reduce medication waste by 50% through employing dose-dispensing systems and disseminating opened medication packages in 1 year. Manufacturers can help long-term pharmaceutical supply and use by increasing shelf life, selecting the most environmentally-friendly storage conditions, and changing packaging (Ebrahim, 2019). The fourth objective is to assess how some activities are utilized to reduce expired medication by modifying the dosage of prescription drugs and the length of treatment.

Strategies

The first Strategy used to prevent drug interaction and medication-related damage is consulting a physician. Patients in the ophthalmology clinic will be required to consult the doctor about the medicine prescribed before taking them. The doctors will explain side effects and the foods the medication interacts with for proper patient care (Bekker et al., 2018). The other Strategy is to learn how and when to take medicine. It’s critical to understand whether one should take the prescription with or without food.

Strategies that will help learn the behaviors of professional disposal practices include returning the medicines to the manufacturer or the donor. Pharmaceuticals that are expired or rotted are considered a health hazard and sent to the donor for disposal. Another strategy is using sewer to dispose of expired medicine (Bekker et al., 2018). Some liquid medications, such as syrups and intravenous fluids, are diluted with water and drained into sewers in minimal amounts over time without causing significant global health or environmental impact. Checking medications when coming on shift daily before patient care is provided and having a check off system. Also ensuring coordination of workshops twice a year to encourage compliance. This should be done on daily basis.

Strategies used to determine the measures used to reduce medication waste include, Manufacturers should offer a broader range of package sizes and steer clear of huge packages. Authorities can compel manufacturers to provide a decent range of lengths by imposing a maximum waste percentage or mandating refunds for the unused or expired medication (Bekker et al., 2018). Another strategy is that prescribers could also use shared decision-making to customize pharmacotherapy. Patients’ unique preferences include the need and attitude toward pharmacological treatment and avoiding expired or undesirable medication (Bekker et al., 2018).

Background

Expired medication is harmful to human bodies. Addressing the issue of expired medication use in our clinic will help reduce and eliminate expired medications on patients due to a change in chemical structure or a drop in potency (Hughey et al.,2019). Expired drugs are susceptible to bacterial growth, and sub-potent antibiotics fail to treat bacterial infections, resulting in more severe diseases and antibiotic resistance.

It’s critical to understand that ingesting an expired medication or one that has degraded due to poor storage might result in various issues (Hughey et al.,2019). Since it has a lesser strength than planned, deteriorated treatment does not provide the patient with the anticipated benefit. Dangerous compounds may also be released as a medicine expires, posing a risk of undesired side effects in patients.

All healthcare team members should educate patients on how to properly dispose of expired prescriptions to save lives and money. It’s simple to teach patients about the significance of taking their drugs, but healthcare practitioners occasionally overlook the importance of teaching patients how to properly dispose of expired medication (Nepal et al., 2020). The degradation of drugs is influenced by heat and moisture. Prescriptions and medicines should be kept in a cold, dry environment such as a kitchen cupboard, dresser drawers, wardrobe shelf, or storage box.

Conclusion

High pharmaceutical manufacturing, prescriptions, and consumption have resulted in many expired medications with various negative consequences, particularly for the environment. Additionally, using innovative stability tests to extend a drug’s expiration date will assist reduce the annual number of expired medications. Despite being preserved according to the manufacturer’s instructions, many medications frequently expire. It’s critical to dispose of these expired and unused medications properly. 

References

Alnahas, F., Yeboah, P., Friedel, L., Abdin, A. Y., & Alhareth, K. (2020). Expired Medication: Societal, Regulatory and Ethical Aspects of a Wasted Opportunity. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(3), 787. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030787

Bekker, C. L., Gardarsdottir, H., Egberts, A., Bouvy, M. L., & van den Bemt, B. (2018). Pharmacists’ Activities to Reduce Medication Waste: An International Survey. Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6030094

Ebrahim, A. J., Teni, F. S., & Yimenu, D. K. (2019). Unused and Expired Medications: Are They a Threat? A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of primary care & community health, 10, 2150132719847857. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132719847857

Hughey, C. W., Lawson, D., Roberts, K., Santos, M., & Spinosa, S. (2019). Safe medication disposal. Home Healthcare Now, 37(2), 106-110. https://bit.ly/3hhbvRH

Nepal, S., Giri, A., Bhandari, R., Chand, S., Nepal, S., Aryal, S., ... & Shastry, C. S. (2020). Poor and unsatisfactory disposal of expired and unused pharmaceuticals: a global issue. Current Drug Safety, 15(3), 167-172. https://bit.ly/3si3sdB