Investigation and Analysis of Medication Disposal in Hospitals and Community Pharmacies in Taiwan

Tzu-Chueh Wang, Pou-Jen Ku, Hai-Lin Lu, Kung-Chuan Hsu, Damien Trezise and Yu-Hsuan Hong
Additional contact information
Tzu-Chueh Wang: Department of Pharmacy, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan City 71710, Taiwan
Pou-Jen Ku: Taiwan Pharmacist Association, Taipei 10452, Taiwan
Hai-Lin Lu: Department of Information Management, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 71710, Taiwan
Kung-Chuan Hsu: Giraffe Pharmacy, Tainan 71049, Taiwan
Damien Trezise: Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 71710, Taiwan
Yu-Hsuan Hong: Department of Pharmacy, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 71710, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Taiwan offers affordable access to health care through the National Health Insurance (NHI) Program, but this increases the risk of waste of medications and pollution caused by improper disposal. This research aimed to: (1) understand methods of disposal of unused medications, and public awareness of related issues, (2) understand the sources and types of unused medications and reasons for their disposal, and (3) propose improvements to current disposal practices. Data on practices and perspectives on the disposal of medications were collected from members of the public using a questionnaire, and subjected to chi-square analysis of demographic variables. The survey found that many respondents disposed of medications inappropriately, but most believed the government should establish a return system. The majority of discarded medications came from hospitals, and were most frequently discarded because patients had forgotten to take them. Based on these findings, the study proposes that receiving stations be established across Taiwan for the safe and environmentally friendly disposal of unused medications, along with a system of monthly checks and compensation for pharmacists’ costs. The study also suggests that pharmacists strengthen medication guidance, spend more time on medication counseling, better understand the reasons for medication waste, and offer health education and advice to physicians and the public.

Keywords: community health education; waste of medical resources; environmental pollution; medical waste disposal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/11/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/11/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:11-:d:299177

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().