[Pharmwaste] Display of pills at DEA events

[Matthew C. Mireles]

Ed, this should be very interesting but with health laws pertaining to patients' privacy and confidentiality (such as HIPPA and PSQIA 2005) would not apply because the DEA is not an official health service provider.  On the other hand, it would have been most considerate and prudent to ask participants to black out their names and address or remove the label. 

We were invited at a press conference in Houston and had a few issues with the PR.  Clear cylinder and bowls filled with pills look exactly like perfectly sorted candies.  Even though some 3,400 sites nationwide participated in the take-back, no data about the reported 151 tons of returned drugs were collected.  I believe we miss a huge opportunity to really understand why we have the type (?) and quantity (?) of drugs and why people are discarding them.  

We are anxious to learn about the next step for the DEA, now with the newly signed law.

Matthew Mireles




-----Original Message-----
>From: Ed Gottlieb <egottlieb at cityofithaca.org>
>Sent: Oct 13, 2010 11:21 AM
>To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
>Subject: [Pharmwaste] Display of pills at DEA events
>
>There are two photos of collected pills on display at DEA collection events.  http://www.justice.gov/dea/index.htm 
>The one in NJ is a clear cylinder filled with pills.  The photo from Seattle Washington is of a fish tank filled mostly with prescription pill bottles.  Shouldn't the names/address have been blacked out from those bottles?    
>
>Ed Gottlieb
>Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
>Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
>525 3rd Street
>Ithaca, NY  14850
>Work: (607) 273-8381
>egottlieb at cityofithaca.org 
>
>
>
>
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