[Pharmwaste] Washington Times piece on drug take-back and EPR

[Margaret Shield]

Thanks for sharing this article Vivian.

 

I find one of the issues discussed in the article fascinating - that the
pharmaceutical industry should not have to fund drug take-back programs
because not enough pharmacies are currently participating in drug take-back
programs.  It's a chicken-and-egg argument gone haywire. 

 

Pharmacists and pharmacies want to provide drug take-back services to their
customers, but funding and logistics are barriers.  A key rationale for
pharmaceutical stewardship ordinances has been to obtain the dedicated and
sufficient funding needed to expand drug take-back programs from a small
number of law enforcement collection sites and events to a larger and more
convenient number of pharmacy and hospital drop box locations.  With
dedicated pharmaceutical industry funding, mail-back services and improved
program promotion are also possible.

 

We have good evidence from the local pharmaceutical stewardship laws enacted
in WA state that we were right.  Voluntary pharmacy participation increases
when there is dedicated funding and coordination provided by drug
manufacturers.  In the WA counties with local Secure Medicine Return
ordinances implemented, the number of secure drug drop boxes in pharmacies,
medical clinics, and hospitals has dramatically increased. More pharmacy
locations are joining the manufacturers' MED-Project program with time. We
hope to see this trend continue and especially want to see the national
chain drug stores participate.

 

There are so many MED-Project drop boxes in our larger counties that I get
worn out counting them, but I just updated my summary handout that lists
current drug take-back services and compares to what existed before.

Direct link to my handout:
https://www.cehstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WA_LocalSecureMedic
ineReturnRegs_Status.pdf 

You can find other resources about WA drug take-back laws on my website,
including policy summaries and links to details about each county's program:
https://www.cehstrategies.com/wa-drug-take-back-laws 

 

Margaret Shield, PhD

Community Environmental Health Strategies, LLC

 <mailto:margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com>
margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com

mobile:  206-499-5452

 <http://www.cehstrategies.com/> www.CEHstrategies.com 

 

From: Pharmwaste <pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
<mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us> > On Behalf Of Vivian
Futran Fuhrman
Sent: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 11:12 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us> 
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Washington Times piece on drug take-back and EPR

 

Hi All,

 

I wanted to share this article that came out Thursday in the Washington
Times titled, "Pharmaceutical companies, activists battle over cost,
effectiveness of opioid takebacks":
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/26/battle-looms-over-cost-unus
ed-drugs-opioid-war/.  PSI is quoted in paragraph six. 

 

This was relatively fair coverage by a right-leaning publication.

 

Best,

Vivian 

______________________________
Vivian Fuhrman, Ph.D.

Sr. Associate for Policy and Programs

Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.
29 Stanhope St., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116
P: (617) 236-4771 F: (617) 236-4766
 <http://www.productstewardship.us/> www.productstewardship.us
 <mailto:vivian at productstewardship.us> vivian at productstewardship.us

The Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider and
employer.

 

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