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Drug Disposal Practices of Hospitals, Long-term Care facilities

M

mixin

Well-known member
Associated Press examines drug disposal practices of hospitals, long-term care facilities

Hospitals, hospices and nursing homes dump at least 250 million pounds of unused medications and contaminated packaging into the U.S. drinking water supply each year, according to an ongoing Associated Press investigation, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The Associated Press based the estimate on a small sample, as few of the 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care facilities maintain records on the amount of unused medications of which they dispose.

According to the AP/Chronicle, the medications "are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded." And others "are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, can't tolerate them or die with nearly full 90-day supplies of multiple prescriptions on their nightstands." The "enormous amount of pharmaceuticals being flushed by the health services industry is aggravating an emerging problem," the AP/Chronicle reports. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun to consider a national standard for the amount of unused medications of which health care facilities can dispose in drinking water, but the agency likely would not finalize such a standard before 2009, according to EPA official Ben Grumbles(Donn et. al, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).

Controlled Substances
Narcotics and other controlled substances are the forms of medications most likely to contaminate the drinking water supply, the AP/Chronicle reports. According to the AP/Chronicle, hospital environmental administrators maintain that federal regulations on narcotics, stimulants, depressants and steroids "make these drugs nearly impossible to handle safely as waste." Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rogene Waite said, "DEA is currently developing regulations to allow for the safe and effective destruction of controlled substances" (Donn, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=41618
 
Re: Drug Disposal Practices of Hospitals, Long-term Care facilities

We cannot know in advance exactly how much people would felt ill, or how they will respond on medications.
Looking at the published speculations of roughly 50% of non-exact tailored wide used market drugs to the individualy medicated organism, the AP assertion
#1:
"According to the AP/Chronicle, the medications "are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded." And others "are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, can't tolerate them or ..."

can potentialy harm the policy of having enaugh preventive drug stocks, and instead became "on the fly" meds.

Maybe the writer don't imagine the possibility to be the one remaining without vital drugs in an case of neccessity.

The "flushing" pollution are in the "fine them" field - can it be that don't exist an clear law policy for rec./dump drugs?
Reasonably it must exist an order to stock it localy, than transport it in joint depots to stock it further, or to be incinerated.

#1:
"Hospitals, hospices and nursing homes dump at least 250 million pounds of unused medications and contaminated packaging into the U.S. drinking water supply each year, according to an ongoing Associated Press investigation, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports."

Dumping the above into freshwater, or other waters, must be obviously something outlawed, or not?!
#1:
"According to the AP/Chronicle, hospital environmental administrators maintain that federal regulations on narcotics, stimulants, depressants and steroids "make these drugs nearly impossible to handle safely as waste." Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rogene Waite said, "DEA is currently developing regulations to allow for the safe and effective destruction of controlled substances" (Donn, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21)."
 
Re: Drug Disposal Practices of Hospitals, Long-term Care facilities

I found a not-so-small amount of crack cocaine in one of my rental properties recently and called the police. The reply I got was to flush it down the toilet.

We have a monthly recycling program for expired drugs here; but crack wasn't something I wanted to be carrying around.

I remember an article once about how much medical waste we accept from Canada.
 
Re: Drug Disposal Practices of Hospitals, Long-term Care facilities

If there was alarms about a Tamiflu resistance from ousted flushing waters, what we realy have now with those all kind meds/toxics worldwide mixed with freshwater/sea/oceans than recirculated by drinking water/fish and processed farm meat of animals filled with meds to survive until the butcher?

Obviously than emerges many strange superstrains microbes.
 
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