Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

www.drugtopics.com AUGUST 11, 2008 DRUG TOPICS 25 Community Practice Agencies flush original strategies in favor of promoting drug take-back programs Fred Gebhart T he Environmenwater supply.” tal Protection The problem is that Agency (EPA) not all pharmaceuticals and the Food and are degraded by current Drug Administration wastewater treatment (FDA) want you to technology, San Francreate your own medicisco-area pollution cation take-back procontrol expert Jennifer gram. Jackson, of the Bay That’s one read on Area Pollution PrevenFDA's quiet change tion Group, said. That in drug labeling that is as true of drugs exonce recommended creted in urine and feflushing unused drugs ces as of drugs that are down the toilet. The flushed directly. agency is encouraging Household trash consumers and phargenerally goes to landAt Leiter’s Pharmacy in San Jose, Calif., customers return macists to use drug fill facilities. That unused drugs. take-back programs makes trash a probinstead. Federal drug disposal guidelines issued in 2007 lematic disposal method. Some landfills are well sealed. include flushing more than a dozen drugs or disposing Waste does not leach into groundwater supplies. Other of drugs in household trash. landfills are unprotected and do nothing to prevent “EPA believes the federal drug disposal guidelines leaching. Most facilities are somewhere in the middle, issued in 2007 were a great start in raising consumer Jackson said. awareness,” Benjamin Grumbles, EPA assistant admin“Landfills don’t want to be used for medication istrator for water, said in a statement. “EPA, FDA, and disposal,” she said. “It’s a potential pollution issue and the White House Office of National Drug Control a worker safety issue. Some medications are hazardPolicy are looking at changes to the federal drug dis- ous chemicals, and no one wants to expose workers posal guidelines.” to used sharps.” Bristol-Myers Squibb recently relabeled two drugs, A coalition of water agencies, the EPA, and the Baraclude (entecavir) and Reyataz (atazanavir), to re- California Pharmacists Association are staging a “No move recommendations for flushing, Grumbles said. Drugs Down The Drain” public education program The package insert now advises disposal at a commu- Oct. 4-11. nity drug take-back program or in household trash as a Leiter’s is collecting about 300 pounds of unneeded secondary method. The agency said other drugmakers Rx and OTC products monthly. Drugs are collected at are expected to make similar changes. the pharmacy and removed every two weeks by a mediThe change can’t come soon enough for some phar- cal waste carrier for incineration. The store spends about macists. In San Jose, Calif., just south of Silicon Valley, $125 monthly on disposal fees and other costs. Shalinstaff R.Ph. Robyn Shalinsky started a drug take-back sky said the take-back program offers a solid return on program at Leiter’s Pharmacy in 2007. the investment. “A lot of people think it's OK to put drugs in the “The take-back program has definitely increased our trash, including the American Pharmacists Associa- walk-in business,” she said. “It’s a great plus for any tion,” Shalinsky said. “We need to reeducate people pharmacy. Just getting people to walk in the door is half that it’s not safe. What goes into the trash goes into the battle. We are hearing people talking about switcha landfill, where it leaches into groundwater and the ing pharmacies because of the program.” http://www.drugtopics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

Drug Topics- August 11, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters DEA Proposes Rule To Allow Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Merger, Medicare Reform Could Mean Broader E-Prescribing Adoption New Combination Pill Approved for Type 2 Diabetes New Eczema Guildlines Promote Use of Emollients, Then Topical Corticosteroids Agencies Flush Original Strategies in Favor of Promoting Drug Take-Back Programs JP at Large: You Laughing at Me? Pharmacists Find Themselves at Mercy of Prior Authorization State Law Requiring PBM Transparency See Some Gains, Some Losses Global Counterfeiting Still Growing, Says U.S. Commerce Official FDA Saftey Page: Prophylthiouracil Still Confused with Purinethol (mercaptopurine) New Products Bring Lice Treatment to a Head NACDS Marketplace Showcases New Product that Fill Unmet Needs Update on Respiratory Tract Infections Execs Share War Stories About Adopting Technology in their Stores New Products Advertisters Index Classified Viewpoint: Medicare Part D Revisions sorely needed

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