Medication wastage and its disposal amongst patients at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

Medication wastage poses a financial burden on the nation’s economy, as well as, environmental implications associated with wastage disposal. This study was conducted in a public hospital in Brunei and aimed to measure the extent of medication wastage and its disposal. This cross-sectional study used a self-designed questionnaire for patients attending outpatient pharmacy at the Suri Seri Begawan (SSB) hospital in which 253 patients participated over a period of two weeks. Exclusion criteria were: i) patients below 18 yrs, ii) patients visiting the Accident and Emergency Department and iii) patients admitted to the hospital. Majority of the participants were reported to have unused medication at home (75.1%, n=189). Nearly half (54.2%) had unused medicines and this was due to improvements in their medical conditions. Most of the participants (70.8%) were not given necessary advice on how to dispose their medicines in a proper manner. Majority disposed their unused medicines in the household garbage (70%), despite 50.2% (n=189) knowing that disposing of medicines in the garbage can cause detrimental effects on the environment. It was found that 47.7% of the participants would return their unused medicines back to the pharmacy, but in practice, only 18.6% did such. There was no significant association between knowing detrimental effects of medicine on the environment and returning their medicines to the pharmacy (p=0.065). Results showed that medication wastage exists in SSB hospital and patients’ knowledge and practices on its proper disposal was relatively poor. Health policy makers should be informed to implement wastage reduction strategies.