ArticleBMC health services research2019
What does it cost to redispense unused medications in the pharmacy? A micro-costing study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Economic burden and patient-related determinants of medication waste in Saudi Arabia: evaluating re-dispensing initiatives for resource optimization.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Rational drug use and the disposal cost of unused medications within house; a descriptive-cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators to implement the redispensing of unused oral anticancer drugs in clinical care: A hybrid-effectiveness type I study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2024Article
- A Qualitative Approach to Exploring Workflow and Cost Factors of Dispensing Services in Community Pharmacies in Taiwan.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Article
- Medication Use and Storage, and Their Potential Risks in US Households.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Medicines as Common Commodities or Powerful Potions? What Makes Medicines Reusable in People's Eyes.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Public Attitudes towards Medicinal Waste and Medicines Reuse in a 'Free Prescription' Healthcare System.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Towards Medicines Reuse: A Narrative Review of the Different Therapeutic Classes and Dosage Forms of Medication Waste in Different Countries.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Enabling Medicine Reuse Using a Digital Time Temperature Humidity Sensor in an Internet of Pharmaceutical Things Concept.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Enhancing Pharmaceutical Packaging through a Technology Ecosystem to Facilitate the Reuse of Medicines and Reduce Medicinal Waste.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Willingness of patients to use unused medication returned to the pharmacy by another patient: a cross-sectional survey.BMJ open · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRedispensing unused medications that have been returned to outpatient pharmacies by patients may reduce waste and healthcare costs. However, little is known regarding the extra costs associated with this process, nor the price level of medications for which this is economically beneficial. The objective of this study was to assess costs associated with redispensing unused medications in the pharmacy and the price level at which redispensing becomes cost-beneficial.
methodsA micro-costing study was conducted in four Dutch outpatient pharmacies for medications requiring room-temperature storage and requiring refrigeration. First, the pharmacy's necessary additional process steps and resources for redispensing were identified. Second, time required for each process step was simulated. Third, required resources were quantified by calculating labour, purchasing and overhead costs. Lastly, a model with different scenarios was constructed to calculate the price of a medication package at which redispensing becomes cost-beneficial.
resultsThree main additional process steps for redispensing were identified: (1) pack medications with product quality indicators before dispensing, (2) assess quality of medications returned to the pharmacy (temperature storage, package integrity, expiry date) and (3a) restock medications fulfilling quality criteria or (3b) dispose of medications not fulfilling criteria. Total time required for all steps up to restock one medication package was on average 5.3 (SD ±0.3) and 6.8 (SD ±0.3) minutes for medications stored at room-temperature and under refrigeration, respectively, and associated costs were €5.54 and €7.61. Similar outcomes were found if a medication package would ultimately be disposed of. The price level primarily depended upon the proportion of dispensed packages returned unused to the pharmacy and fulfilling the quality criteria: if 5% is returned, of which 60% fulfils quality criteria, the price level was €101 per package for medications requiring room-temperature storage and €215 per package for those requiring refrigeration. However, if 10% is returned, of which 60% fulfils the quality criteria, the price level decreases to €53 and €109, respectively (arbitrary proportions).
conclusionsRedispensing unused medications in the pharmacy is at least cost-beneficial if applied to expensive medications.
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