Wasted prescription medication

[MrsExpo]

DH was prescribed some medication by his GP in late November. The prescription comprised two boxes of pills and cane in a sealed bag from the pharmacy. For various reasons, he didn’t use them.

Yesterday, I took the still sealed bag back to the pharmacy, and was informed that the pills would be destroyed, even though they had clearly not been opened.

Can someone explain to me why. What a dreadful waste of resource when the medication could have been re-used for someone else. Just how much medication gets wasted in this way?

Because after they have left the pharmacy they aren’t part of the chain where things are monitored so they can’t be sure they are safe to use.

The bigger issue is people getting prescriptions made up and then not using them!

Because there is scum who would tamper with it

Yep, no idea how it’s been stored or what’s been done to it since it left the pharmacy. So common sense that it can’t be given to someone else.

Would you want drugs that have been in someone else’s possession?

@Sirzy I agree. For the record, in this case there was a very good, clinical reason why they weren’t used.

A lot of medication gets wasted in this way. It’s because once the tablets leaves the pharmacy it is no longer guaranteed to have been stored correctly, for example insulin may not have been kept in a fridge which held temperature properly. Or it could have been tampered with. This could have consequences for whoever receives second hand medication.

Yes it’s a lot of waste but the only way to tackle it is for people to order only what they need.

Would you want to take something that had potentially been tampered with?

As everyone says. More annoying, I have a prescription for medication that I only need to take occasionally (it's a bit like a blue inhaler I.e. used for emergencies only so I need to have an in date supply). They will only prescribe me 30 at a time so I usually end up having to return 20 or so every so often because they haven't been used. Why they can't just prescribe me a smaller number I don't know!

Even assuming not everyone who returns medication will have tampered with it, you don't know the storage conditions. Has it been left in a hot car for a couple of days in the middle of a heatwave, or left on a sunny window sill, or on a shelf over a radiator? Once a medication has left the pharmacy we cannot answer those questions, so cannot reuse it. There are usually good reasons as to why patients haven't used the medication that has been prescribed, but we all need to be careful that we only order repeat medication if we need it, and to discuss the quantities prescribed with our GP or pharmacist if it appears to be excessive

It’s for safety though, nursing homes send loads back to pharmacies.

You’re right it is a dreadful waste of resource I see PPs have already explained why it couldn’t be reissued.

Just how much medication gets wasted in this way? Far too much ,caused by people stockpiling or ordering stuff on repeat they don’t need.

You should see the bags we get back when an elderly patient passes away. Months and months of unused or half used medication. Some of it expensive too.

This drives me insane, I got quite angry with a man a few weeks ago. He return 3 yes 3 full carrier bags full of the same prescription cream..expensive cream aswell. I asked him why on earth he had them all and he said he just kept ordering them from the GP. Such a waste and massive cost to the NHS. He was entitled to free prescriptipns but I can guarantee if he was paying for them he wouldnt keep ordering them. Also I've no idea why the GP kept prescribing them in such quantities.

@Ilikewinter
Yep, and don't get me started on the people ordering medication and never bothering to show up and collect it. Waste of time for everyone involved in the process.

I requested 25mg of thyroxine, 25 days supply to top the dose up to the 100mg until the next repeat was due at the end of the month and they sent 100mg so now I’ve got too much. I won’t waste it but others would.