clinical practice
again. We don’t want antibiotic resistance
continuing, and that’s one of the ways
it can, because bacteria can change to
become more resistant to treatment.
What were the other reasons people
held on to unused medicines?
Around 75 per cent of people in the study
told us they kept them in case they needed
them again. Around a third reported
that they felt it was a waste of money to
dispose of their medicines, and less than
20 per cent said they didn’t know how to
dispose of them.
The last group, less than 10 per cent,
said they give away their medicines or
share them with family and friends if they
needed them.
Of those who were disposing of
their medicines, how were they
doing it? Were there any concerning
findings there?
Well, we were quite surprised, and this was
part of the reason why the RUM program
asked us to undertake this piece of
work: to look at what people were doing
with their medicines, how many they
were storing, and if and how they were
discarding them.
We found that most people, around
65 per cent, were disposing of their
medicines in their household rubbish.
And about a quarter of them were pouring
medicines down the sink or into their
toilets. So only around one in five were
taking their medicines back to a pharmacy
so they could be disposed of safely.
What are some of the main issues with
disposing of medicines in the rubbish
or down the drain?
Medicines flushed down the toilet,
poured down the sink or put out with the
garbage can damage the environment
because they get into our waterways,
and once they’re in our waterways,
this exposes plants, animals, fish and
potentially humans to medicines and
they’re metabolised.
We don’t know all of the impacts, but we
do know there are some negative impacts
on fish and plants, and we need further
research into whether this could be very
negative for humans as well.
What advice would you give to
health professionals involved in
managing patients’ or clients’
medicines?
Well, another interesting thing we found
was that, of those people who identified as
healthcare workers, less than half said they
had ever asked patients whether they had
unwanted, unused or expired medicines
in their home. And of those who said they
had asked, most recommended that the
medicines be disposed of in the garbage.
So we’ve been advocating that it is the
responsibility of everyone who works with
patients to remind them to check their
medicine cupboards, to regulate their
packs twice a year, to check the expiry
dates on them, and to read the labels
and decide whether they need all those
medicines. Then take those medicines
that are unwanted back to the pharmacy,
where they will be disposed of safely. ■
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