[Pharmwaste] CA law will collect unused Rxs for use by low-income uninsured

Tenace, Laurie Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us
Tue Jan 3 15:11:45 EST 2006


http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/medical/story/14019287p-14851895c.html

Waste not, want not

Counties can soon help the poor get low-cost drugs by recycling unused
prescriptions that now are dumped

By Clea Benson -- Bee Capitol Bureau

Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Although many Californians find it difficult to afford prescription drugs,
nursing homes and other medical facilities literally flush millions of
dollars' worth of unused medications down the toilet each year.
A new law that goes into effect Sunday aims to reduce the waste while helping
the poor obtain low-cost medicines.

The law, by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, authorizes counties to collect
unused prescriptions from nursing homes, wholesalers and manufacturers, and
redistribute them to the low-income uninsured.

 So far, only a few counties are preparing to implement drug-recycling
programs. But a group of Stanford University medical students who came up
with the idea is hoping it will catch on.

"We're going to start a successful redistribution program here locally and
show the rest of California how it can work," said Jose Paterno, now a
second-year medical student at Stanford.

Paterno and some fellow medical students came up with the idea last year when
they were assigned to design a community-service project for a class. Paterno
was inspired after he read a newspaper essay by a man lamenting that he had
to discard his mother's unused medications, even though they were sealed and
untouched.

And Paterno knew there was a need. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation,
one in four Americans has no insurance coverage for prescriptions. Among the
uninsured, about two in five don't fill prescriptions when they need them
because of the cost.

Low-income Californians can often get free or discounted medicines through
their county health departments, but the aid is limited by the ability of
cash-strapped local governments to pay for it.

As he researched further, Paterno found out that 25 other states had
implemented drug-recycling programs - in part because there was so much
waste. According to one estimate by the Journal of Family Medicine, about $1
billion of unused prescriptions are thrown away nationwide each year when
patients die or their prescriptions change.

First, the students had to find a local California lawmaker who would help
enact the necessary legal changes to authorize counties to recycle drugs.

Though federal regulations and state law generally prohibit the reuse of
medicines once they have been prescribed, the federal Food and Drug
Administration has said it will allow states to authorize recycling programs
for drugs that are sealed and unused.


One afternoon, Paterno went to get a haircut in the same shopping mall where
Simitian has a district office. In the window, Paterno saw a sign advertising
the senator's annual "There Oughta Be a Law" contest, a competition in which
average citizens propose legislation. Simitian introduces the winners' bills.

The students entered.

At first, Simitian, who personally reviews all of the entries in his contest,
was doubtful.

"My initial reaction was unfavorable," he said. "I thought, 'You want to do
what?' "

But after he studied it further, Simitian became convinced it was a good
idea, especially because the proposal would reduce government spending on
medicine for the indigent and prevent water pollution caused by discarded
drugs that are often flushed down toilets.

"We can reduce the waste of taxpayer dollars, help people of limited means,
and improve water quality," Simitian said. "It's a winner all around."

In February, Simitian introduced the proposal as Senate Bill 798.
Environmental groups and anti-poverty organizations signed on in support.
Paterno and his colleagues traveled to Sacramento to lobby.

Both the Assembly and Senate approved it by overwhelming margins, and Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law in September.

The law requires counties to pass local ordinances if they want to have a
prescription recycling program. It also establishes some safeguards. The
confidentiality of the patients originally prescribed the medicines must be
maintained. Only unexpired, unopened drugs in tamper-proof packaging will be
accepted.

So far, only Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have started
looking into establishing their own programs.

Santa Clara County has already signed up 37 nursing homes from which it will
collect drug donations and is planning to have its recycling program running
by the middle of next year. County-run pharmacies will use the drugs to fill
prescriptions for the indigent.

Meanwhile, Paterno and his fellow medical students are forming a student
organization to assist in the county effort by transporting the drug
donations from local nursing homes.

Santa Clara pharmacy director Narinder Singh estimated that about $10 million
in drugs is thrown away in the county each year. He expects the program will
save Santa Clara about $100,000 in its first year alone. The county is
especially hoping the program will reduce its need to purchase expensive
brand-name medications for its poor, uninsured residents.

"From a patient's perspective, nothing changes," Singh said. "As a county, it
saves us a ton of money


Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us
 
view our mercury web pages at: 
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm
 
 



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