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<P>We have been receiving very interesting stories about unused and expired medicines through our new patient safety reporting system called <FONT color=rgb(0,53,255)><STRONG>Share Our Stories</STRONG></FONT> (S.O.S.). One in particular deals with unused and expired meds (UEMs) showing up at a weekend flea market... </P>
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<P>S.O.S. is an anonymous system for patients and families to report medical adverse experiences as well as give us good suggestions about patient safety and healthcare outcomes. However, most of the reports that we have received involved adverse medication events (drug interactions) or side effects that presumably caused the patient to discontinue the meds (non-adherence) and stockpile them at home or work.</P>
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<P>Excerpt from original story:</P>
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<DIV>I recently went to a local flea market and found many vendors selling medicine. They ranged from tylenol, pepcid, zyrtec, prevacid, to robitussin. Some of the medication, in fact most of it was expired. Some of the med boxes had certain parts of the box torn off. Some of the boxes had a statement that " The makers of Pepcid Complete od not manufacture store brands." I would like to know what the quote means and would also like to know what pottential risks there are to taking expired meds. I am a senior nursing major and medicine is a big part of what
<DIV>I recently went to a local flea market and found many vendors selling medicine. They ranged from tylenol, pepcid, zyrtec, prevacid, to robitussin. Some of the medication, in fact most of it was expired. Some of the med boxes had certain parts of the box torn off. Some of the boxes had a statement that " The makers of Pepcid Complete od not manufacture store brands." I would like to know what the quote means and would also like to know what pottential risks there are to taking expired meds. I am a senior nursing major and medicine is a big part of what I do. This recent discovery troubles me. Please help. Thank you for your time.</DIV>
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<DIV>Matthew C. Mireles, PhD, MPH</DIV>
<DIV>Community Medical Foundation for Patient Safety</DIV></DIV>
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<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px">-----Original Message----- <BR>From: "Gressitt, Stevan" <STEVAN.GRESSITT@MAINE.GOV><BR>Sent: Mar 21, 2010 6:26 PM <BR>To: pharmwaste@lists.dep.state.fl.us, rxnews@listserve.com <BR>Subject: [Pharmwaste] FW: Google Alert - unused medicine disposal <BR><BR><?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = [default] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40 NS = "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" /><ZZZhtml xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><ZZZhead><ZZZMETA CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii" HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"><ZZZmeta content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)" name="Generator"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:SmartTagType name="PostalCode" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="State" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="Street" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="address" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="PlaceType" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType name="PlaceName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><ZZZ!--[if !mso]>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I would be interested if anyone runs into any other examples of this.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Stevan Gressitt, M.D., Medical Director</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Office of Adult Mental Health Services</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Department of Health and Human Services</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Marquardt</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceName><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Building</st1:PlaceType></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, 2nd Floor</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">11 State House Station</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">32 Blossom Lane</SPAN></FONT></st1:address></st1:Street><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Augusta</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, <st1:State w:st="on">ME</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">04333-0011</st1:PostalCode></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Ph: (207)287-4273</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Fax: (207)287-1022</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Cell Phone: (207) 441-0291</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#993366 size=2 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: #993366; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">E-Mail : <A title=mailto:stevan.gressitt@maine.gov href="mailto:stevan.gressitt@maine.gov" target=_blank>stevan.gressitt@maine.gov</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><U><FONT color=blue size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><A href="http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mh/" target=_blank>http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mh/</A></SPAN></FONT></U><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><EM><B><I><FONT color=black size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Confidentiality Notice</SPAN></FONT></I></B></EM><FONT color=black size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 8pt">: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, copy, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this is strictly prohibited. Please contact me by reply e-mail or telephone and destroy all copies of<B><I><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></I></B>this message</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=blue size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 8pt">.</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 8pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 8pt">The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin, in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities, or its hiring or employment practices. This notice is provided as required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Maine Human Rights Act and Executive Order Regarding State of Maine Contracts for Services. Questions, concerns, complaints or requests for additional information regarding the <?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /><u1:place w:st="on"><u1:City w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">ADA</u1:City></st1:City></st1:place> may be forwarded to DHHS’ ADA Compliance/EEO Coordinators, <u1:address w:st="on"><u1:Street w:st="on"><u1:Street w:st="on"><u1:address w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">11 SHS-221 State Street</u1:address></u1:Street></u1:address></u1:Street></st1:Street>, <u1:City w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Augusta</u1:City></st1:City>, <u1:State w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Maine</u1:State></st1:State> <u1:PostalCode w:st="on"><st1:PostalCode w:st="on">04333</st1:address></st1:PostalCode>, 207-287-4289 (V), 207-287-3488 (V), 1-800-606-0215 (TTY). </SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy size=1 face="Goudy Old Style"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 8pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/5074038.REDBRIDGE__Warning_over_bogus_medicine_collections/&ct=ga&cad=7:1:0&cd=g0eIVl7uMXE&usg=AFQjCNFaI0W-njiVy2MmpHXVITwQa-T3Zg" target=_blank>REDBRIDGE: Warning over bogus <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">medicine</SPAN></B> collections</A><BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#666666 size=2><SPAN style="COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Guardian Series</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><BR>People with any concerns or questions on the scam or on the <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">disposal</SPAN></B> of <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">medicines</SPAN></B> should speak to their GP or local pharmacist. <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">...</SPAN></B> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=2 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><BR><A href="http://news.google.com/news/story?ncl=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/5074038.REDBRIDGE__Warning_over_bogus_medicine_collections/&hl=en" target=_blank><FONT color=green><SPAN style="COLOR: green">See all stories on this topic</SPAN></FONT></A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR><BR clear=all><BR>-- <BR><BR>Stevan Gressitt, M.D., Medical Director<BR>Office of Adult Mental Health Services<BR>Department of Health and Human Services<BR>Marquardt Building, 2nd Floor<BR>11 State House Station<BR>Augusta, ME 04333-0011<BR>Ph: (207)287-4273<BR>Fax: (207)287-1022<BR>Cell Phone: (207) 441-0291<BR>E-Mail : <A href="mailto:stevan.gressitt@maine.gov" target=_blank>stevan.gressitt@maine.gov</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></ZZZbody></ZZZhtml></BLOCKQUOTE></u1:PostalCode></u1:place></ZZZ![endif]--></ZZZ!--[if></ZZZmeta></ZZZMETA></BODY>