Dubai
Packets and packets of unused medicines. Some of them are expired, the others, well... you may use them. So, they lie there forgotten, till you dump them with all other bits and pieces of unwanted stuff. Sounds familiar?
If you think that it’s high time something was done about your overcrowded medicine cabinet then you are not alone.
After Gulf News reader Haifa Mohammad wrote to us about waste resulting from excess medicines, we decided to investigate.
In her letter, Indian national Mohammad said that the way medicines are packaged and sold in pharmacies often results in patients buying more than necessary.
“I noticed that the size of medicine bottles and packets here [in the UAE] are large. Sometimes, I’m given a 100ml bottle for a prescription of 5ml for three days,” she said.
Born and brought up in the UAE, Mohammed remembers a time pharmacies would operate differently.
“Earlier, pharmacies didn’t do this. They used to cut off tablets from a strip, which stopped medicines from being wasted.”
Dubai resident Kiran Shaheen felt that it was not the sole responsibility of pharmacies, doctors are to blame, too.
“Because the first medicine doesn’t work we go back to the doctor and they prescribe another medicine, it is a waste,” she said.
“Just last week I went to the doctor as my son had a runny nose and the doctor prescribed Aerius. This was unnecessary, as it is a very strong medicine,” the 33-year-old told Gulf News.
When asked what she does with the excess medicine, Shaheen admits that she throws it out.
“There would be no need to dispose medicines, if it was prescribed and sold correctly in the first place.”
So, are doctors responsible for the waste?
Ajman-based dentist Karthi Kumar Murari disagreed. He said the problem is patients self-medicating.
“Patients have to start listening to the doctors, if the doctors say this medicine is fine then it is fine. Self-medication and Google-doctors are trouble,” Murari said.
“If the doctor does prescribe a stronger medication the first time, it is probably because of the patient’s demands to get medication immediately. They want immediate solutions so the doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics or stronger antibiotics.”
This could mean more medicines being taken away by a patient than necessary but not the sole reason for it.
Dubai-based psychiatrist Subas Pradhan said that excess medicines with people has to do with them taking advantage of health insurance cover.
“...expatriates have to pay but the [minimal] payment includes the cost of consultation and prescription. People keep taking medication and storing it, and if they don’t like it they throw it away.”
Exploitation of the healthcare system in the UAE is a prevailing issue, with several news reports quoting the Emirates Insurance Association as stating that the abuse of health insurance services costs approximately 3.67 billion dirhams a year.
Dubai Hospital pharmacist Mohammad Azam said that public hospitals cannot be blamed. He referred to a system of ‘unit dose dispensing’ used by government hospitals to prevent waste.
“Through unit dose dispensing we give patients the specific quantity they need. If the medicine unit is larger, we just take it out, level them properly, and repackage them in smaller packaging.”
We spoke to Mihad Isam, a pharmacist working the Al Manara area of Dubai to find out if a similar system is applied in private pharmacies. She said that ultimately pharmacies can only sell packets as a whole and suppliers determine the size.
“It’s not about the pharmacy. With the size of bottle for example, it just comes like this from the supplier,” Isam said.
“If it [the medicine waste] happens often enough, we just let the supplier know that for example we have a need for smaller sizes of a specific medicine. Sometimes they will take our suggestion.”
Medical practitioner Subas Pradhan said the best solution is educating patients.
“Every doctor, every nurse, every pharmacist must educate their patients ...about the proper storage and disposal of their medications [too].”
Sharjah resident Ebrahim Tily agreed that people need to stop over-stocking medicines. “The focal matter is that when people go to hospitals and get their medicines, they get whatever they want and however much they want. But medicines aren’t chocolates and people should take what is actually needed.”
Agreed, but what should be done after the fact?
Seventeen-year-old Sharjah school student Arushi Madan suggests that excess medicines be redistributed to those in need. Along with her friend Khyati Saxena, Madan ran a collective medicine redistribution campaign ‘Dose of Help’ last year.
Through the campaign the girls received more than 1,000 unused medicines and more than 120 kinds of medicines from people.
Medicines were sorted for their condition and expiry date before being packed and given to the Emirates Red Crescent in Sharjah.
“Our individual small efforts of collection resulted in collective change. All of the donors received a good message, and everyone appreciated what we did,” she said. “We’re hoping to launch it again this year around October or November.”
On a more personal front, if you possess unused, excess medication you can familiarise yourself with medical redistribution methods or centers (see box) in your area.
_ The writer is an intern with Gulf News
