Pharmaceutical Waste Reduction Strategies

Donate medications

Healthcare facilities donate non-expired drugs to legitimate non-profits, locally or internationally.

Examples of Applying this Strategy

Project C.U.R.E. accepts medications on a limited basis, if there is at least one year of available dating prior to expiration at time of donation, and the medication is in the original sealed container. ALL potential donors must call or write into the donation portal at http://www.projectcure.org before sending the donation, to ensure the pharmaceutical medication can be used. Project C.U.R.E is selective in what it can accept, due to disposal costs and restrictions in the US and strict import regulations in the developing countries served. Project C.U.R.E. ACCEPTS: 1. Medications that are more than a year from expiration date. Most countries will not accept expired medication and many require the one year of dating. Project C.U.R.E. insists on the one year rule because it takes several months to process all the donations and for them to arrive overseas. 2. Medications in their original, unopened packages. Blister packs that are partially used are accepted. 3. Prescription medication when it can be used for short term therapies. Most of the accepted medications are gastro-intestinal-related, infection control and ointments. 4. Over-the-counter medications, as they can be placed in most environments. Project C.U.R.E. DOES NOT ACCEPT: 1. Expired medications or medications less than a year from expiration 2. Any liquid or pill that is opened. 3. On-going therapies like insulin, cancer medications, cardiac medications, etc. (Accepting medication that needs to be sustained over the lifetime of the patient is not prudent because Project C.U.R.E. would only be supplying a limited quantity to the patient and not sustaining the treatment.) Again, contact Project C.U.R.E. before sending any medications to them, to ensure that their criteria will be met. For more information: George Roberge, VP of Operations Project C.U.R.E. Denver, CO USA Phone: 303-792-0729 ext 230 Fax: 303-792-0744 Email: georgeroberge@projectcure.org

Generic Drug: ALL samples Dispensary of Hope is a national not-for-profit that recovers surplus medications from manufacturers and physicians and redistributes them to charitable clinics and pharmacies across the country. Each year, over $2 billion in sample medications expire and go to waste before reaching a patient. Meanwhile, millions of patients go without the medications they need because they can't afford them. Through the Dispensary of Hope, physicians may donate their sample medications six months prior to expiration. Here are two case studies from their website (http://www.dispensaryofhope.org/give-meds): St. Vincent Medical Group Sentara Medical Group Proprietary Drug(s): ALL samples Delivery Method(s): Inhalation, Oral Liquid, Ophthalmic Solution, Oral Gel, Topical Ointment/Cream, Oral Tablet , Oral Capsule For more information: O'Reilly, Kevin B. Director of Donor Development, Dispensary of Hope Phone: 888-428-HOPE Email: info@dispensaryofhope.org

Additional Resources

World Health Organization Guidelines for medicine donations apply to international donations
http://www.who.int/selection_medicines/emergencies/guidelines_medicine_donations/en/

The following organizations may accept medications. Please contact them directly for more information.

Dispensary of Hope (www.dispensaryofhope.org/)

Project C.U.R.E (www.projectcure.org)