• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2020

Objective: This study aimed to explore a veteran patients' behavior of prescribing drug use and of which influencing factors from the veteran patients' perspective through qualitative interviews. Methods: We recruited veteran patients through purposive sampling and interviewed 30 veteran patients aged 20 and over who had been taking prescription drugs. We developed and utilized an interview guide consisting of three themes for data collection. We made verbatim transcripts and analyzed data using the framework analysis. Results: Participants were aware that they had large amounts of prescribing medicines and discarded the medicines. They often used improperly by the person himself or his family or acquaintances. The factors that influenced these inefficient prescription drug usage were grouped into 'factors procuring more drugs than necessary' and 'factors being prescribed more drugs than necessary'. Anxiety about downgrading from the upper class to the lower among reward classes for veterans, and suspicion or dissatisfaction with the veteran policy caused the participants to procure more drugs than necessary. Additionally, they received too many medicines due to long-term prescriptions and lack of communication with their doctors, and poor quality of veteran health services. Conclusion: To improve the medication use behavior of veteran patients, providing information or introducing interventions for the proper medication use is not enough. Efforts should be made to improve their negative recognition over relevant policies and health care services.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.262-267
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• 2014

Unused medication disposal is a burden due to the cost of disposing as well as the cost of the drugs. Investigating medication returns is expected to suggest areas of intervention to reduce unused medications. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine types, quantity, costs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and therapeutic category of the medications returned to community pharmacies. Method: From January 15, 2014 to February 28, 2014, the medications returned to the 17 community pharmacies in Gimhae, Jinju, and Incheon, Korea were examined. The pharmacists and student volunteers worked cooperatively to identify the medications and analyze drug cost of prescription pill medications returned to the pharmacies. Results: A total of 2,720 pills of prescription medication were analyzed and 91 active pharmaceutical ingredients were identified. According to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification, the most predominant group was A (alimentary tract and metabolism) with 33.3%, followed by N (nervous system) with 15.0%. With regard to the drug cost of groups, group A was the highest with 26.6%, followed by J01 (antibacterials for systemic use) with 20.2% and N (nervous system) with 18.3%. The total cost of the oral pill prescription medications was 468,477 won. Conclusion: The result from this study implies that unused drugs impose a significant cost to the health care system in Korea. In this study, medicines used to treat gastrointestinal conditions were returned most frequently with the highest drug cost. Further research in nationwide level is necessary to establish strategies to reduce the wastage of unused medicines.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.4951-4957
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• 2016

Background: Apart from reducing occupational exposure to cytotoxic hazards, the PhaSeal(R) closed-system transfer device (CSTD) can extend the beyond-use dates (BUDs) of unfinished vials of antineoplastic drugs for up to 168 hours (seven days). In this study, the total material cost incurred by its use in a Malaysian government-funded hospital was calculated. Methods: A list of vial stability following initial needle punctures of 29 commonly-used antineoplastic drugs was compiled. The amount of the materials used, including drugs, infusion bottles, the PhaSeal(R) CSTD and other consumables, was recorded on a daily basis for three months in 2015. The total cost was calculated based on the actual acquisition costs, and was compared with that of a hypothetical scenario, whereby conventional syringe-needle sets were used for the same amounts of preparations. Results: The use of the PhaSeal(R) CSTD incurred a cost of MYR 383,634.52 (USD 92,072.28) in three months, representing an average of MYR 170.5 (USD 40.92) per preparation or an estimated annual cost of MYR 1,534,538.08 (USD 368,289.14). Compared with conventional syringe-needle approach, it is estimated to lead to an additional spending of MYR 148,627.68 (USD 35,670.64) yearly. Conclusion: Although there was a reduction of drug wastage achieved by extending BUDs of unfinished vials using the PhaSeal(R) CSTD, cost saving was not observed, likely attributable to the wide use of lower-priced generic drugs in Malaysia. Future studies should further evaluate the possibility of cost saving, especially in health settings where branded and high-cost antineoplastic drugs are more commonly used.