Dose Administration Aid Service in Community Pharmacies: Characterization and Impact Assessment

Adherence to therapies is a primary determinant of treatment success. Lack of medication adherence is often associated with medical and psychosocial issues due to complications from underlying conditions and is an enormous waste of medical resources. Dose Administration Aid Service (DAAS) can be seen as part of the solution, allowing individual medicine doses to be organized according to the dosing schedule determined by the patient’s prescriber. The most recent systematic reviews admit the possibility of a positive impact of this service. In line with this background, the study reported in this paper aimed to characterize DAAS implementation in Portugal and understand the perceptions of pharmacists and owners of community pharmacies regarding the impact of DAAS, preferred methodology types, and State contribution. The study was guided by qualitative description methodology and reported using the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 pharmacists and/or owners of community pharmacies. Using qualitative content analysis, we identified categories that revealed that automated weekly methodology is the preferred methodology, because of its easiness of use and lower cost of preparation. However, the investment cost was felt to be too high by the participants considering the number of potential users for implementation in practice. Participants were also unanimous in recognizing that DAAS has a very positive impact in terms of safety and medication adherence, and the majority agreed that it also helped reduce medication waste. Implications of these findings for medication adherence are discussed.

47. Transitioning to Batch Dosing of High-Cost Antimicrobials in the Inpatient Setting

Background Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) committees ensure appropriate antimicrobial utilization. One stewardship intervention is to evaluate the delivery model of high-cost antimicrobials to better utilize resources and mitigate expenses. We analyzed the total medication waste and costs of high-cost antimicrobials, specifically daptomycin, ertapenem, amphotericin, and micafungin, at our institution and propose innovative cost-savings changes at a systems level. Methods This retrospective study consisted of 263 patients. All patients were at least 18 years old who was admitted to our academic institution from January 2020 to April 2021 and received daptomycin, ertapenem, amphotericin, or micafungin. Demographics, daily medication dosage, total doses received, the date and time of the start of the medication, last administered dose, and discontinued order were recorded. Results The daptomycin cohort consisted of 143 patients with 46.2% females and average age of 56.3 years. In this group, 145.3 vials were wasted which equated to a loss of &22,630. The ertapenem group had 53 patients with 62.3% females and a mean age of 62.3 years. There were 24 vials wasted with a calculated loss of &1080. The amphotericin cohort had 32 patients with an average age of 52.2 years and 43.8% females. There were 189 vials wasted with a loss of &46,116. The micafungin group had 35 patients with 42.9% females and average age of 60.4 years. This group had 12 vials wasted with a loss of &2052. Conclusion Each antimicrobial has a specific formulation protocol. Daptomycin and ertapenem formulation occurs in the early morning. Amphotericin formulation occurs 2 hours prior to medication use. Micafungin formulation occurs at the time the order label prints. These medications were more often administered in the late morning to early afternoon timeframe. The order to discontinue the medications also occurred at the same interval. One reason could be due to decisions made on morning rounds from primary teams and specialty input. These orders would then be placed after rounds. A cost-saving method would be to batch and change the formulation time for all antimicrobials to later in the afternoon, which would not only prevent waste, but also allow the AMS team to effectively audit appropriate antimicrobial use. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Disposal of pharmaceuticals wastes by the population of an outcrop area of the Guarani Aquifer System in Southern Brazil

Pharmaceutical waste is considered emerging pollutant that can contaminate water sources and underground water, besides is serious problem for waste management in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmaceutical consumption for human use and the way expired and unused medicines are disposed by the population. The study was carried out in two neighborhoods of the Lages, under outcrop of the Guarani Aquifer, in southern Brazil. In this descriptive and quantitative study, data collection occurred between August and October of 2018 via a questionnaire completed by 309 participants. The questions addressed about sociodemographic data, information on the medicine consumption, disposal of pharmaceuticals residue and about the basic sanitation in the neighborhood. The pharmaceuticals class most used were anti-hypertension and diuretics, indicating an elevated occurrence of non-transmittable chronic illnesses. About 68% of participants stated that there are leftovers of medications after medical treatment and 70.2% that there is expired medication at household. The disposal of leftover and expired pharmaceutical was in domestic waste, followed by discharged into domestic sewage. Only a small percentage (<15%) of the participants adequately dispose of their medication waste. The inadequate disposal of household pharmaceutical in the study area can result in contamination by chemical substances of the Guarani Aquifer and superficial waters.

Choose Wisely: Metered Dose Inhalers Versus Nebulized Inhaled Solutions in The Inpatient Setting

Background Healthcare expenditures continue to rise, and hospitalization costs remain the driving factor for nationally increasing health expenditures.(1,3) Affordability initiatives targeted at minimizing inpatient drug spending and medication waste are vital. Metered dose-inhalers (MDIs) impose high potential for medication waste as their bulk nature provides a day supply that far exceeds average hospitalization length of stay.(1,7) Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center inpatient pharmacy adopted a cost saving initiative aimed at converting the commonly prescribed ipratropium MDI to its equivalent nebulized solution. Methods This was a retrospective medication use evaluation (MUE), assessing the overall drug cost impact of converting patients from ipratropium MDI to ipratropium nebulized solution. The study period consisted of two phases: the pre-implementation phase from 11/1/2017 to 09/30/2018, and the post-implementation phase from 11/01/2018 to 09/30/2019.The study population consisted of patients admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and Step-Down Unit (SDU), who were prescribed an ipratropium MDI or ipratropium nebulized solution. Patients who were under the age of 18 years old were excluded. The primary outcome was to analyze the drug cost savings of prescribing nebulized solutions over MDIs in the inpatient setting. The secondary outcome was to assess overall compliance with the conversion protocol. Results Ipratropium MDI administrations declined by 91% (from 3,751 to 336) during the post-implementation phase. An estimated drug cost savings of $68,700 occurred by converting the ipratropium MDIs to ipratropium nebulized solution. Conclusion This conversion protocol was successful at reducing MDI waste and attaining substantial drug cost savings at our medical center over a period of 1 year since implementation.

Towards Medicines Reuse: A Narrative Review of the Different Therapeutic Classes and Dosage Forms of Medication Waste in Different Countries

Background: Medicines reuse, the idea of re-dispensing returned medicines to others following quality control, is yet to be implemented in the UK. This practice is potentially a sustainable way of dealing with returned medicines, which are otherwise classed as medication waste and destroyed. To inch towards medicines reuse, it is important to know more about the different therapeutic classes and dosage forms that make up medication waste. For example, it is helpful to know if medicines being returned are mostly solid-dosage forms and thus have the potential to be reused or are from therapeutic classes that would make medicines reuse cost-effective. Little is known about the therapeutic classes and the dosage forms of wasted medicines. This study aimed to narratively review and report findings from the international literature on the different therapeutic classes and the dosage forms of medicines that are returned by patients to community pharmacies, hospitals, general practitioners’ clinics, or collected through waste campaigns. Studies based on surveys without physically returning medicines were also included where relevant. Methods: A comprehensive electronic search of databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar, was carried out over one month in 2017 and updated by 5 November 2020, using a combination of carefully created keywords. Results: Forty-five studies published in English between 2002 and 2020, comprising data from 26 countries were included and reviewed. Oral solid dosage forms (mostly tablets) were the commonly reported dosage form of all wasted medicines in 14 studies out of the 22 studies (64%) that described the dosage form, with percentages ranging from 40.6% to 95.6% of all wasted medicines. Although there was variability among the levels of medication waste reported in different countries, findings from the UK and Ethiopia were relatively consistent; in these, medicines for the cardiovascular system and anti-infective medicines, respectively, were the most common therapeutic classes for medication waste. Conclusion: This narrative review provides insights about the different therapeutic classes and dosage forms of medication waste either returned by patients, collected through waste campaigns, or indicated in survey responses. The findings could help policy makers understand the potential implications of treating most unused medicines as medication waste and whether therefore pursuing a medicines reuse scheme could be environmentally or financially logical. The quality and the safety of these returned medicines using criteria related to the storage conditions (such as heat and humidity), physical shape (such as being sealed, unopened, unused, and in blister packaging), and tampering are other important considerations for a medicines reuse scheme.

Intentions to “Reuse” Medication in the Future Modelled and Measured Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Background: A range of pro-environmental behaviors are recognized, promoted, and investigated, but urgent action is also needed to tackle the direct and indirect environmental impact of medication waste. One solution is to reissue medicines, returned unused to pharmacies (i.e., reuse medicines). Yet, if medicines reuse is to be formally introduced in the UK, it is imperative also to understand people’s willingness to take part in such a scheme and importantly, the underpinning drivers. This study aimed to develop, validate, and evaluate a Theory of Planned Behavior model aimed at predicting medicines reuse behavioral intentions. Methods: The behavior of interest, medicines reuse, was defined according to its Target, Action, Context, and Time. Then themes from an existing qualitative study were used in order to draft, validate and pilot a Theory of Planned Behavior-based questionnaire before its completion by a representative sample (n = 1003) of participants from across the UK. Results: The majority expressed pro-medicines reuse intentions. The three direct measures accounted for 73.4% of the variance in relation to people’s intention to reuse medicines in the future, which was statistically significant at p < 0.001. People’s specific beliefs about medicines reuse and how they evaluate other people’s expectations of them had a substantial impact on their intentions to reuse medication in the future, mediated in an intricate way via attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Conclusions: This study shows how people could embrace medicines reuse via practical measures that illustrate the safety and quality assurance of reissued medicines, educational interventions that bolster beliefs about the pro-environmental benefits, and norm-based interventions encouraging doctors and pharmacists to endorse the practice. The findings add to the emerging work on medicines reuse and, significantly, provide a theoretical framework to guide policymakers and other organizations looking to decrease the impact of medication waste through medicines reuse schemes.

Unused and Expired Medications Disposal Practices among the General Public in Selangor, Malaysia

The appropriate disposal practice of unused and expired medications has become a global challenge that has caught the attention of health policymakers, pharmaceutical organizations, healthcare professionals, and the wider community. The current study aimed to evaluate the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors relating to the disposal practice of unused and expired medications and medication wastage issues among the general public in Selangor, Malaysia. The quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-validated structured survey form. Among the approached individuals, 426 showed their willingness to participate in the study. More than 80% of the study population reported being aware of the medication wastage issue and its impact on patients and the economy. The respondents with a higher level of education (OR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.18–2.52; p < 0.003) were more likely to be cognizant of the detrimental consequences of inappropriate waste disposal. The female respondents were more likely to report comprehending that the availability of free healthcare resources is contributing to medication waste (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.015–2.34; p < 0.005). The majority of respondents reported throwing away unused medications (202; 47.4%) and expired medications (362; 84.9%) in the garbage. The respondents believed that the provision of appropriate directions by healthcare professionals (312; 73.2%) and prescribing/dispensing medications in quantities for the duration that ensures patient adherence (114; 26.7%) could minimize medication wastage. The Ministry of Health (258; 60.5%), pharmaceutical organizations (212; 49.7%), and pharmacists (193; 45.3%) were the respondents’ perceived responsible sources of information. The current findings reported that respondents were familiar that inappropriate practices of medication wastage might have harmful consequences. However, a gap exists between their awareness and practice, and the disposal approaches practiced by the respondents were generally not appropriate.

Leveraging advanced preparation of oncology medications: Decreasing turnaround-times in an outpatient infusion center

Introduction Many oncology infusions are provided in hospital-based infusion centers. With hospital-based infusion centers seeing increased volumes, patient wait times continue to be a priority. Extended wait times for oncology infusions have been shown to lead to patient dissatisfaction. Methods Advanced Preparation of oncology infusion medications allows pharmacy to verify and prepare specific medications the day before a patient’s infusion appointment. Our study targeted lower cost, commonly used medications to prepare in advance. Data analyzed included turnaround time (TAT), medication waste, and oncology infusion preparation volumes. Implementation took place in two phases to allow time for the healthcare team to adjust to the new workflow. Phase I medications include a small amount of medications prepared manually by pharmacy technicians. Phase II medications included all phase I medications plus additional medications that were compounded in the intravenous (IV) robotic compounding system. Results Our study demonstrated significant decrease in median TAT for medications prepared in advance. 537 infusions were prepared using the Advanced Preparation module with a median TAT of 24.2 minutes (IQR, 18.0–34.0). The pre-implementation median TAT was 45.0 minutes (IQR, 36.0–56.0), which represents a decrease of 20.8 minutes (46.2%) following implementation of the program, (p<0.001). There were a total of 149 advanced preparation doses that were wasted (21.7% of doses). Conclusion We have seen a statistically significant reduction in TAT for Advanced Preparation medications. Low volume of Advanced Preparation medications compared to total infusion volume limited impact on overall TAT.