[Pharmwaste] Silent Knight pill crusher

Fri Jan 6 09:18:22 EST 2012

Hi all,
As many of you know, I've worked in the healthcare pollution prevention arena for (yikes!) 15 years now.  One LTC facility I worked with was using a blender to "disguise" pills.   We found that in addition to short dosing for new meds, that an automated dispensing instrument, the Talyst, could reduce their medication waste, saving about $20K per year.  I would encourage LTC facilities, along with their supplying pharmacy to look into this type of instrumentation.  A waiver from their local board of pharmacy may be needed. Also, this can be worked in despite the "patient choice" caveat with Medicare/Medicaid.

Very truly yours,

Catherine Zimmer, MS, BSMT
Industry Leader, Environment of Care
PSC Healthcare Services
Office:  651.645.7509
Mobile: 713.829.6365
www.pscnow.com<http://www.pscnow.com/>
Catherine.zimmer at pscnow.com<mailto:Catherine.zimmer at pscnow.com>

Live green now!
Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle.

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Stevan Gressitt
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 6:48 PM
To: Grasso, Cheri
Cc: Tenace, Laurie; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us; Margaret Hemauer
Subject: Re: [Pharmwaste] Silent Knight pill crusher

Select Options
Silent Knight Pill Crusher - $93.95

Silent Knight Pouches, Box of 1000 - $37.95

Hard for mre to see many families  shelling ou t for one of these things anyway....

On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 3:10 PM, Grasso, Cheri <Cheri.Grasso at kingcounty.gov<mailto:Cheri.Grasso at kingcounty.gov>> wrote:
         Here's the attachment of pills that shouldn't be crushed.

Cheri Grasso
Pharmaceuticals Project
Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County
130 Nickerson Street, Suite 100 | Seattle, WA  98109 | 206-263-3089<tel:206-263-3089>
Local Governments for Health and the Environment www.lhwmp.org<http://www.lhwmp.org>
Protect our Kids, Families, the Environment  www.takebackyourmeds.org<http://www.takebackyourmeds.org>

-----Original Message-----
From: Grasso, Cheri
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 12:09 PM
To: 'Tenace, Laurie'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Cc: 'Margaret Hemauer'
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Silent Knight pill crusher

The Silent Knight pill crusher is designed to allow patients to crush pills before taking them. Time release medications should not be crushed. Attached is a list of medicines from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices that should never be crushed before ingestion.

Crushing medicines, even the non time-release medicines, prior to disposal is very risky advice. Because trash cans at the curb are not secure, residents have been given advice on how to disguise medicines in an attempt to prevent theft.  Some recommendations include crushing the pills before mixing them with kitty litter or coffee grounds, but this could be harmful, and we hope others stop using this advice. Among other problems, the "crusher" could inhale dust from the crushed pills or get the medicine on their skin or spill the ground-up pills in their home, exposing other family members to the pills.  It is also impractical for large volumes of waste medicines. Exposure risk from crushing certain drugs can lead to a potential higher, more toxic concentration than the therapeutic doses prescribed to the patient.

Cheri

Cheri Grasso
Pharmaceuticals Project
Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County
130 Nickerson Street, Suite 100 | Seattle, WA  98109 | 206-263-3089<tel:206-263-3089>
Local Governments for Health and the Environment www.lhwmp.org<http://www.lhwmp.org>
Protect our Kids, Families, the Environment  www.takebackyourmeds.org<http://www.takebackyourmeds.org>

-----Original Message-----
From: Tenace, Laurie [mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us<mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 8:53 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Cc: 'Margaret Hemauer'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Silent Knight pill crusher and also need help with Colorado drug regs

Can a list serve member in Colorado please contact Margaret Hemauer at mhemauer at good-sam.com<mailto:mhemauer at good-sam.com>? She has questions about drug regulations in that state.

Margaret also told me about a device I wasn't aware of, the Silent Knight pill crusher: http://www.healthykin.com/p-3765-silent-knight-pill-crusher.aspx?gclid=CLCblPX4tq0CFdKR7QodbBMelQ.

Thanks,
Laurie

Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist III
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Rd., MS 4555
Tallahassee FL 32399-2400
P: 850.245.8759<tel:850.245.8759>
F: 850.245.8811<tel:850.245.8811>
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us<mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>
Mercury: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm
Batteries: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/batteries/default.htm
Pharmaceuticals:  http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/pharm/

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--
Stevan Gressitt, M.D.
Faculty Associate, University of Maine Center on Aging
Academic Member, Athens Institute for Education and Research
Athens, Greece
Medical Director, Umbrella, MHC
Founding Director, International Institute for Pharmaceutical Safety
University of New England, College of Pharmacy
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine
314 Clark Road
Unity, Maine, 04988
gressitt at gmail.com<mailto:gressitt at gmail.com>
Cell: 207-441-0291
www.benzos.une.edu<http://www.benzos.une.edu>
www.safemeddisposal.com<http://www.safemeddisposal.com>
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