March 9, 2025 TakeAway Enviromental Return Boxes Learn how to manage large-capacity disposal of non-controlled, non-hazardous medications with our “Fill, Seal, and Send” process. This video covers proper container assembly, liquid handling requirements, and using the prepaid return shipping to ensure safe, compliant pharmaceutical destruction. Watch Now
March 9, 2025 TakeAway Medication Recovery Envelopes This video outlines the easy “Place, Seal, and Send” process for the TakeAway Medication Recovery System. Learn how to safely dispose of unused or expired controlled and non-controlled medications using these serialized, prepaid envelopes, ensuring DEA-compliant destruction while protecting your home and environment. Watch Now
March 9, 2025 MedSafe Collection Kiosk & Disposal System MedSafe is an unused and expired medication disposal system. This video demonstrates our easy-to-operate system for accepting controlled (Schedules II-V), non-controlled, and over-the-counter medicines. Watch Now
September 1, 2021 Drug Decomposition/Deactivation Products: Compliance, Safety, & Cost Issues Although several drug deactivation products are marketed for pharmaceutical waste disposal in home and clinical settings, none have been reviewed or approved by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Disposing of drugs in the trash (even after treatment with a drug decomposition product) may violate state and/or local regulations. Federal guidelines from the DEA, EPA, and FDA for consumer disposal of household medicines recommend take-back programs as the best disposal option. Unlike ultimate users, regulated generators of pharmaceutical waste – including hospitals, veterinarians, and long-term care facilities, to name a few – must comply with strict regulatory requirements for collecting, transporting, tracking, and treating regulated medical wastes, pharmaceutical wastes, and hazardous wastes. Regulatory Compliance Issues with Drug Decomposition Products Regulated medical, pharmaceutical, and hazardous waste disposal regulations are complex and detailed, but facilities that use drug deactivation products for medication disposal face additional training and compliance difficulties. Many states impose restrictions on methods of drug disposal. For example – Colorado prohibits the trash disposal of activated carbon-based decomposition products, and California requires the incineration of all Rx wastes (including used charcoal-based products). Other concerns include: State prohibitions on trash disposal: Although the main selling point for drug decomposition products is the ease of trash disposal, businesses’ use of such products results in a regulated business waste. This waste would be prohibited from trash disposal in most states unless extensive waste characterizations are performed to prove the mixtures are not hazardous. DEA irretrievable standard: Most drug decomposition products rely on activated carbon or charcoal to deactivate the medications. Users must follow the directions exactly for the processes to work correctly. In addition, many such products include a disclaimer that they are incapable of entirely dissolving capsule shells and patches. The DEA’s non-retrievable standard requires destruction methods to render all controlled substances non-retrievable, even mixtures where any controlled substance is likely to be present. Product limitations: Generators using these products must perform waste characterization on each bottle/batch and exercise care when combining different medications for treatment. If any individual medicine added to the disposal product has a federal hazardous waste designation, then all the resulting product-drug mixture must be managed as hazardous waste, according to the EPA’s Final Rule. Mixing of medications for treatment can raise disposal costs and/or incur regulatory penalties. Safety and shipping issues: Businesses generating both hazardous and non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste would need to implement separate disposal solutions for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and multiple other drug categories prohibited by the product itself. For instance: Bio-based drugs, which can lead to mold growth in the bottle “Gas-causing” items or antacids, which can result in off-gassing All drug decomposition/deactivation products require the user to mix medications with a chemical solution. This raises the possibility of accidental exposure in case of spills or overfilling. Additionally, the following restrictions also apply: Bottles must be kept in controlled and secure locations and cannot necessarily be distributed throughout a facility for convenient access. Most products should be used within one year – or sooner if additives are bio-based. Mailback systems require the use of liquid hardeners to make them compliant for shipping by common carrier. However, some medications may not be compatible with the hardener. Some mailback systems are labeled using the expired DOT classification of ORM-D, as well issues with hardeners could lead to fines from UPS or DOT if spills result. Costs Associated with Drug Decomposition/Deactivation Products Waste generators can face high costs from using these products. Waste segregation: Salaried staff must spend time identifying and segregating wastes to determine what can and can’t be mixed with decomposition products. Training: The FDA approved seven new drugs in July 2021 and 12 in June 2021. Generators who use drug decomposition/deactivation products must ensure that staffers responsible for using the products receive updated information and training whenever any new drugs are used in the facility. Labor: Many medications are stored in blister packs as both a safety precaution and medication compliance aid. Many children can easily open a “child-proof” cap, but even many adults have difficulty removing a pill from a blister package. Consider how much time it will take for staff to empty vials, remove pills from packaging, and mix the medications with the product’s chemicals. A 2019 survey conducted by Sharps Compliance among a large U.S.-based long-term care (LTC) provider found that nurses spent an average of 12 hours a month removing pills from their containers for disposal. Implementing drug disposal programs utilizing collection receptacles or mailback packages allows staffers to spend more time on patient care. These programs potentially save up to $10,000 annually for the time it takes two RNs to prepare medications for disposal via a multi-step process compared to placing wastes in a collection receptacle. Regulatory Compliant Alternatives to Deactivation Products Consolidation of medication disposal options – both hazardous and non-hazardous pharmaceuticals – into a single solution can help waste generators control costs and more easily comply with federal, state, and local regulations. Our DEA-compliant MedSafe collection kiosk streamlines the disposal of unwanted, unused, and expired medications. It’s a full-service medication collection and disposal solution that meets the DEA Controlled Substances Act requirements. Comingled collection of controlled and non-controlled pharmaceuticals Inner liners returned prepaid via common carrier Online shipment tracking Proof of destruction using incineration to meet the DEA’s non-retrievable standard for controlled drugs MedSafe medication collection kiosks help generators control costs. Reduce the time required for waste segregation and training Spend less time preparing medications for disposal No additional costs or extra fees for compliant handling and treatment of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals Many LTC communities have found that MedSafe is a better alternative to decomposition products. Use of the collection kiosks offers savings of up to $12,000 a year per community and easier regulatory compliance. Contact us to learn more about how Sharps Compliance can help your facility manage your regulated medical, pharmaceutical, and hazardous waste compliance and training. There are never any hidden fees, and we work with you to develop a custom regulated waste disposal solution that meets your needs and budget. Read More
August 18, 2021 DUMP Opioids Act Will Increase Community Options for Safe Opioid Disposal On July 29, 2021, President Biden signed the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescription (DUMP) Opioids Act into law. Beginning in 2022, it will give community residents access to medication disposal collection receptacles, including Sharps Compliance’s MedSafe kiosks, located at certain VA medical centers. Instead of waiting for semi-annual Drug Take Back Day events, this additional disposal option will help unused/unwanted opioids and other harmful medications from being misused or diverted into the environment. The COVID Pandemic Affected Addiction Treatment and Overdose Rates in 2020 During the pandemic lockdowns, patients with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) faced many problems, including difficulty accessing treatment, isolation, and financial worries. In addition, the economic downturn forced some states to cut budgets for drug treatment and education programs. The consequences were heartbreaking. Overdose deaths soared in 2020, with a nationwide increase of almost 30%, with some states experiencing increases of at least 40% over 2019. “This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, and the largest increase since at least 1999,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told NPR. DUMP Opioids Act: “A smart way to save lives.“ Even before the pandemic, officials were concerned about rising OUD rates among veterans. Between 2010 and 2016, opioid overdose death rates among veterans increased by 65%. Two recent federal laws aim to make safe drug disposal easier for veterans and others. The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, became law in January 2021. One provision (Section 3009) directs “certain Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities to have physical location for the disposal of controlled substances medications.” It takes effect on January 1, 2022. The Dispose Unused Medications and Prescription Opioids Actamends Section 3009 of the previous bill. It expands the law to give community residents access to medication disposal kiosks at covered VA medical facilities. It also authorizes the VA Secretary to implement public information campaigns about available facilities and drop-off dates/times. The DUMP Opioids Act’s Senate sponsor, John Kennedy of Louisiana, expressed hope that his bill will help families and communities keep opioid painkillers out of the wrong hands: “Many opioid users rely on unused prescription medications that belong to family and friends, and Americans can help fight opioid addiction simply by clearing out their medicine cabinets. We can reduce access to addictive and dangerous substances by making it easy for every American to get rid of unused medicine at drop boxes that sit on VA medical centers. The DUMP Opioids Act is a smart way to save lives, and you don’t have to wait until Take Back Day.” Federal agencies recommend take-back options as the preferred method for disposing of opioids and other medications to protect the public and the environment. Sharps Compliance ContinuesOur Public/Private Partnership with the VA Sharps Compliance began working with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2010 when the VA launched a 5-year pilot program to provide disposal options for medical waste and unused dispensed medications generated outside healthcare settings: The pilot, initiated in collaboration with the Houston-based Sharps Compliance Corp., allows each medical center in the VA Capitol Health Care Network (VISN 5) region, both inpatient and outpatient, to provide the Sharps Disposal By Mail System and the RxTakeAway solutions to patients. After a successful trial period, the VA expanded the program nationwide in 2015 to supply Takeaway Medication Recovery System Envelopes to VA healthcare facilities as part of the VA’s Consolidated Mail Outpatient Program. Ultimate users can use the envelopes to dispose of both controlled and non-controlled medication waste right from the privacy of their own homes. All mailback systems are pre-addressed and affixed with prepaid postage. The partnership is ongoing. The VA Center for Medication Safety prescription safety page includes information about how veterans can Receive postage-paid TakeAway Medication Recovery System Envelopes at no charge Dispose of medications in MedSafe medication disposal receptacles located at certain VA healthcare facilities Passage of the DUMP Opioids Act will make it easier for communities with participating VA medical facilities to safely dispose of unused medications, including controlled substances, while also protecting their families, communities, and the environment. Read More
July 21, 2021 Safe Opioid Storage & Disposal Helps Protect Kids & Pets from Accidental Poisoning In 2019, an estimated 9.7 million people misused prescription painkillers, and 70.6 % of drug overdose deaths involved opioids. Not all of those deaths were the result of intentional misuse. Prescription opioids and opioid use disorder treatment medications kept in the home pose a danger to children and pets if they aren’t stored in secure containers and disposed of safely. Learn more about how to protect your family members (including the furry ones) from accidental medication poisoning. Dogs Are Also Victims of the Opioid Crisis Although most pet owners consider their companion animals to be full-fledged family members, some people with substance abuse problems are willing to abuse their own pets to obtain opioid prescriptions from veterinarians. Fortunately, only a tiny minority of pet owners use or abuse their animals to gain access to opioids! Yet, even the most loving families may accidentally put their pets at risk. In 2020, the journal Plos One published a study that analyzed calls to the ASPCA’s poison control hotline for pets between 2006 and 2014. Researchers found 5,162 cases of accidental pet opioid poisonings during that time. In general, smaller, younger dogs were most likely to be the subject of the calls. Other common human medications, including over-the-counter painkillers, heart medications, antidepressants, and other drugs, are also dangerous for dogs. Cats are especially sensitive to acetaminophen but can also be poisoned by cold medicines, antidepressants, and other human medications. It’s important to keep any type of medication in secure containers where pets can’t access them. Dogs are notorious for digging through garbage cans, so avoid disposing of household medications in regular trash containers. According to the FDA, securely locking, storing, and disposing of unwanted opioids should be a priority for pet owners. Proper disposal also helps protect the environment. Opioid Poisoning Cases of Young Children Are Increasing In 2018, the journal Pediatrics published a study of “Trends in Pediatric Deaths from Prescription and Illicit Opioids.” It highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of the national opioid crisis. Unsecured opioid medications pose a danger to children in the home – particularly young children and teens. “Across the United States, nearly 5000 children younger than 6 years are evaluated annually in emergency departments for opioid exposures. In addition, hospitalizations for opioid poisonings increased nearly 2-fold across all pediatric age groups between 1997 and 2012. Rates more than doubled among children aged 1 to 4 years, and in adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, poisonings attributed to suicidal and unintentional intent increased 2- and 3-fold, respectively.” Dr. Megan Land of Emory University in Atlanta presented a study to the 2020 Society of Critical Care Medicine congress. The result showed that opioid poisonings in children are becoming more deadly. In an interview, Land noted that the most common causes were “standard opiate pills likely to be in medicine cabinets, such as oxycodone, codeine, and tramadol. These are medications that someone might get for a sprained ankle or [after] surgery.” Small children spend a lot of time on the floor and at play. They’re particularly curious about unfamiliar objects and try to put everything in their mouths. That tendency can be deadly. Thirteen-month-old Edwin Perocier Jr. died after his parents gave him a pill bottle containing Suboxone tablets to use as a rattle. Edwin managed to open the bottle and ingest one or more tablets. Nine-month-old Maisie Gillan died after she and her parents visited the home of a neighboring family. The previous week, a visiting relative had dropped a single Methadone tablet on the floor. Maisie found it while crawling and swallowed it. Tips to Keep Kids and Pets Safe from Medication Poisoning Both of these examples were terrible accidents that ended in tragedy. Fortunately, there are ways to make medication safety part of your child- and pet-proofing plan. Store medications out of sight and out of reach. A locked box or cabinet is safest for medications always kept in the home. Wall hooks for purses keep the contents out of reach of curious babies and toddlers. Avoid storing medicines in purses, nightstands, kitchen or bathroom counters, and other accessible locations. Keep medications in their original packaging. Many people find the blister packs containing pills hard, even frustrating, to open. But that’s an important safety feature! They’re difficult for children and pets to open. Never call medicine “candy” or treat pill bottles as toys. Children’s vitamins are designed to be both tasty and visually appealing, but thousands of children are treated in emergency rooms each year because of supplement overdose. Safely dispose of unused/unwanted medications. If you don’t need it, don’t keep it around! Many people keep unused opioids “just in case” they may need them later, but leftover pills contribute to misuse. They may be stolen, misused by friends or family members, or consumed by curious children or pets. Federal agencies recommend take-back options as the preferred method for opioid disposal. These options include: Semi-annual drug take-back events sponsored by local governments and community organizations. Secure medication collection receptacles located at pharmacies and law enforcement offices. TakeAway Medication Recovery System envelopes are the most convenient solution for many people. Simply place your unused/unwanted medications in the postage-paid envelope and send it to Sharps Compliance for safe, compliant disposal. Medications within their entire packaging can be placed directly in the envelope. You don’t have to store them at home while waiting for a special drug take-back event or travel to a drop-off location. Suspect Poisoning? Get Help Quickly If you think your child may have been poisoned by medication or any other toxic substance, call the Poison Control Center at 1.800.222.1222. If you suspect your pet has been poisoned, call the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center at 1.888.426.4435. Sharps Compliance works with health care providers, state and federal regulators, and community organizations to educate the public about the importance of safe medication disposal. We also provide disposal options for community collection and in-home medication disposal. Our pharmaceutical waste disposal solutions help you keep your family and community safe from accidental poisoning and drug diversion. Contact us by email or call 1.800.772.5267 to learn more. Read More
July 7, 2021 New Medication Disposal Regulations Can Help Long-Term Care Communities Lower Costs With many long-term care (LTC) communities already struggling with staff shortages, rising salaries, declining resident census, and other challenges, new government regulations can seem like just one more burden. However, changes to federal medication disposal regulations can actually help assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, memory care facilities, and other providers realize significant savings. If your facility would like to save money on medication disposal, including hazardous waste pharmaceuticals (HWP) and labor costs, review our recent white paper: Cost-Saving Solutions for Compliant Medication Disposal in Long-Term Care Communities We explain how key provisions of the following laws and regulations apply to LTCs: Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 2014 Disposal of Controlled Substances, Final Rule Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine (EPA Pharma Management Rule) You’ll learn how LTCs can lower costs by using on-site medication collection or mailback options for unused pharmaceuticals, including HWPs. Many facilities may realize significant cost savings. For example: Labor costs: LTCs utilizing on-site pharmaceutical collection receptacles could save as much as $10,000 annually, per community, in salary expenses for the time it takes two RNs to prepare medications for disposal via a multi-step process, as opposed to the simple solution of placing medication wastes into a collection receptacle. Disposal costs: Communities utilizing drug disposal receptacles or mailback packages could potentially realize a savings of nearly $12,000 annually, per community, by consolidating all their medication disposal options into a single solution. Would your facility like to reduce costs without cutting staff or patient services? Download our white paper to learn how Sharps Compliance can help you manage your pharmaceutical waste disposal. Read More
September 22, 2020 Disposal of Controlled and Non-Controlled Medications in Long-Term Care Communities Last updated on June 14, 2021 This is an update of the article originally published on October 9, 2014. Regulations change frequently. That’s why Sharps Compliance monitors updates and communicates any changes to its customers. On September 9, 2014, the Drug Enforcement Agency published the Disposal of Controlled Substances Final Rule, which went into effect on October 9, 2014. This new rule allowed registered collectors to place DEA-compliant drug collection receptacles in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) for the collection and disposal of ultimate-user controlled substances (Schedules II-V). “Best Practices” for Medication Disposal Have Changed Many people aren’t aware that EPA guidelines and state/local environmental regulations strongly discourage many common medication disposal methods, including: Flushing medications: In addition to the EPA’s new rule, the sewering of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals is explicitly forbidden. The DEA also states that the flushing of controlled substances does not meet their non-retrievable standard for disposal. A 2013 EPA study estimated over 46 million Americans could be potentially exposed to up to 4.4 daily doses of an active pharmaceutical ingredient from their wastewater treatment plants. Other studies have shown changes in aquatic life such as gender changes in fish, due to pharmaceuticals in the water. Mixing medications with kitty litter or coffee grounds: The purpose of mixing medications with kitty litter or coffee grounds is to mask the medications, but eventually, the mixture ends up in a landfill where the pharmaceuticals can cycle back into the water. Additionally, the process is time-consuming and often messy — not the best use of a community’s best resource: nurses. Like flushing, this form of disposal likely does not meet the DEA’s non-retrievable standard of disposal. To learn more about how landfilling of medications harms both people and the environment alike, read our article on this topic. Chemical Solutions May Increase Disposal Costs Chemical solutions that break down the compounds on-site are relatively new options. These solutions are messy, release a foul odor, require nurses to remove, or “pop,” pills one at a time from blister packs or other packaging. Additionally, these methods of destruction do not meet the DEA’s non-retrievable standard, given the medication does not fully dissolve or takes days to dissolve. Anyone who has ever struggled to remove a single pill from a blister pack knows that this can be a difficult and time-consuming task. In fact, this type of disposal solution can cost a community upwards of $10,000 annually in nursing salary alone.1,2 Figure 1: After seven days, medications treated with a chemical solution were emptied into a plastic bag. The pills were removed from the plastic bag and rinsed off, but the pills were still not liquefied. Nurses must also take time to completely block out Personal Health Information on the packaging to comply with HIPAA before placing that packaging into the trash — overall, consuming even more valuable staff hours and increasing potential facility liability. Lastly, if chemical solutions are used for the disposal of hazardous waste, controlled, and non-controlled medications, then they must be disposed of by a hazardous waste provider, given the presence of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and the unknown resulting conglomeration of waste. It causes the customer to “double pay” for disposal: once to purchase the pouch and then a second time to dispose of it by a hazardous waste provider. Sharps Compliance Offers Safe Medication Disposal Options for LTCFs Long-term care facilities can now utilize a DEA compliant drug collection receptacle or provide mailback solutions to residents for safe disposal of their medications, including controlled and non-controlled medications. Sharps Compliance has been at the forefront of safe mailback and on-site pharmaceutical collection options. We can help LTCFs safely dispose of unused/unwanted medications and stay compliant with the DEA. LTCFs have two options for the disposal of comingled controlled and non-controlled substances: collection receptacles or mailback envelopes/boxes. We offer both a collection receptacle program (MedSafe™) and a mailback solution (TakeAway Medication Return System™). As the DEA has stated, “the DEA has considered the diversion risks and determined that the installation and maintenance of collection receptacles by authorized hospitals/clinics and retail pharmacies is the most secure and responsible means by which registrants may collect and dispose of LTCF residents’ pharmaceutical controlled substances.” Collection Receptacles for Medication Disposal As outlined in § 1317.60 of the Disposal of Controlled Substances Regulations, a collection receptacle is a substantially constructed container with a permanent outer container and a removable inner liner. Collection receptacles must be securely fastened to a permanent structure, and the outer container shall include a small opening that allows contents to be added to the inner liner but does not allow removal of the inner liner’s contents. LTCFs can utilize a collection receptacle for medication disposal, provided that an authorized collector manages the program. A collector is a DEA registrant that has been approved to administer drug collection programs at an LTCF. The collector for the community is the managing pharmacy that provides medication for the residents (retail, closed-door, or hospital/clinic with an on-site pharmacy). While the collection receptacle is physically located within the community, the authorized collector will manage the program. Program management includes inserting inner liners into the collection receptacle, removing and sealing inner liners for disposal, and documenting a step log of the procedures. Note: No LTCF can operate a collection receptacle program without an authorized collector managing the program. The removable inner liners, once sealed by the authorized collector, can be stored on-site at the community for up to three business days per the DEA regulations. The inner liners are returned via common carrier to a registered treatment facility for proper destruction. With the goal of diversion as a main concern of the DEA, all steps outlined above are conducted by two people — either two employees from the authorized collector pharmacy or one employee from the authorized collector pharmacy and a second supervisory-level employee from the LTCF. Mailback Medication Disposal For LTCFs where residents manage their own medications, specially-designed mailbacks can be used for disposing of controlled substances. The resident places their medication into the mailback, seals it, and gives it to USPS for direct return shipping to the registered collector for destruction. Our 10- and 20-Gallon TakeAway Environmental Return Systems™ are optimal mailback solutions for communities where residents are managing the disposal of their own non-controlled, non-hazardous medications. To learn more about the 2014 Disposal of Controlled Substances Final Rule and options for a collection receptacle or mailback program for your communities, please contact Sharps Compliance at 800.772.5657 or visit our MedSafe website. Additionally, Sharps Compliance continues to offer both medical and hazardous waste management services. For more information on medication disposal in LTCFs, read our other articles: This white paper was co-written by Sharps Compliance and Senior Housing News: “Medication Disposal in Senior Living: Understanding New Regulations.” Our white paper, “Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities Under the EPA’s Pharmaceutical Rule,” describes in detail how the new EPA rule affects LTCFs. In this video interview, Sharps Compliance’s Director of Regulatory Compliance discusses new EPA regulations and their implications for LTCFs. 1 Working hours per year = 2087 based on Policy, Data, Oversight. Fact Sheet: Computing Hourly Rates of Pay Using the 2,087-Hour Divisor. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 2 Salary estimates based on Salary Guide: Nurses 2018 & 2020 Salary Survey Results: An Elite Healthcare Resource Guide. (2018, 2020). Elite Healthcare. Read More
May 6, 2020 Opioid Painkillers After Oral Surgery May Put Teens at Risk for Later Opioid Abuse Most parents worry about their teens getting access to drugs at school or in social settings – not at the dentist. However, the American Dental Association and private insurers have expressed concerns about the widespread practice of prescribing opioid painkillers to teens after oral surgeries. The patients who filled those opioid prescriptions were nearly three times as likely to use opioids in the year after the prescription. Teens Are at Risk for Substance Abuse During the past decade, opioid addiction rates exploded across the country and created an ongoing public health crisis. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics show the rate of drug overdose was four times higher in 2018 compared to 1999. In 2018, almost 70% of drug overdose deaths involved an opioid. Public health professionals have become concerned about the intersection between legitimate opioid prescriptions for teens and later opioid use and addiction. The American Academy of Pediatrics Journal addressed the issue of teen opioid use in 2015: “Legitimate opioid use before high school graduation is independently associated with a 33% increase in the risk of future opioid misuse after high school. This association is concentrated among individuals who have little to no history of drug use and, as well, strong disapproval of illegal drug use at baseline.” During adolescence, teen brains are still developing. That makes them particularly susceptible to a drug’s effect on the reward pathways in the brain. Parents and prescribers need to be alert to common risk factors for teen substance abuse. Wisdom Teeth Extraction Can Lead to Opioid Misuse Insurers and dental professionals are looking closely at “best practice” pain management strategies for children and teens. A2015 study of private insurance patients age 16-25 found 13% of participants had received at least one opioid prescription, and dentists wrote 30% of them. Within the next year, 5.8% of those patients were diagnosed with opioid abuse. In 2019, Delta Dental reported: Compared to their peers around the world, teens in the United States are much more likely to be prescribed opioids after wisdom tooth extraction. Many American teens leave their dentist’s office with a prescription for hydrocodone, also known as Vicodin or Norco. Almost all of this drug’s supply worldwide — 99% — is prescribed and used in the U.S. United Healthcare (UHC) launched an initiative to “limit teens’ exposure and inform dentists, patients, and parents about opioid medications.” The company’s public education efforts include radio and TV public service announcements and a public toolkit. The toolkit includes a downloadable dental opioid flyer and checklist and other educational materials. UHC implemented a new in-network pharmacy policy that “limits all first-time opioid prescriptions for people age 19 and under to no more than three days and fewer than 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” The company also created an outreach program to dentists who have a pattern of “prescribing opioids outside of CDC guidelines.” Questions to Ask the Dentist about Pain Relief The National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens has a list of suggested questions to discuss with your dentist before filling a prescription for opioids: Ask if there’s an option other than prescription opioids to treat your pain. Some non-opioid medicines might offer the best balance between benefits and risks. Tell the dentist about any substance use disorders or addiction in your family. This will help the dentist decide if opioids are safe for you. Talk about your medical history and any medications you’re taking. It might not be safe to take opioids with some other medicines. The vast majority of medical professionals are happy to discuss options with patients. They realize that patient education about opioids helps prevent misuse and encourages safe disposal of unused/unwanted opioid prescriptions. Always Safely Store and Dispose of Opioids Two=thirds of teens who report misusing prescription pain medications got them from friends, acquaintances, or family members. Many people have extra: a 2017 meta-analysis found up to 92% of people don’t finish their prescription painkillers, and fewer than 10% safely dispose of the leftovers. Three-quarters of patients fail to keep opioids in a locked cabinet. Safe disposal of unused/unwanted medication is just as important as safe storage. Consider the community and environmental effects before flushing medication or throwing it away with household trash. This infographic highlights the dangers of improper disposal of medication and pharmaceutical wastes. Households and professionals alike share a responsibility to protect America’s teens from indiscriminate access to opioid painkillers. Ensuring residual medications are properly disposed means those same medications no longer pose a threat to our vulnerable youth. As part of their patient education efforts, we encourage dentists to discuss safe disposal options for unused/unwanted opioid medications. For example: Provide information about nearby MedSafe medication collection receptacles in nearby pharmacies or other public locations. Offer the patient a TakeAway Medication Recovery System envelope along with the prescription. Provide the dates of semi-annual Prescription Drug Takeback Day events – if the local community participates. In addition to offering safe, convenient pharmaceutical disposal solutions to generators and ultimate users, Sharps Compliance also helps dental offices comply with other waste disposal regulations regarding dental carpules, amalgam recycling, and more. Read More
January 22, 2020 Cost-Effective Medication Disposal in Long-Term Care This is an update of the article originally published on November 3, 2015. Regulations change frequently. That’s why Sharps Compliance monitors updates and communicates any changes to its customers. Nurses practicing in senior care have very busy work schedules. From caring for residents to distributing medications and updating records, their days can become overwhelming. One of the most important tasks is the disposal of unused medication. When a resident’s medication is permanently discontinued, per the 2014 Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Disposal of Controlled Substances Final Rule, it must be properly disposed of within three business days. Prior to the 2014 DEA regulation updates, the most common ways to dispose of a resident’s medication was either flushing medications down the sink or toilet (sewering) or placing them into a drug disposal pouch and placing it into the trash. However, these options are costly, inefficient, and unsafe for the environment. Reducing costs is key to the success of any business. So, paying Clinical Directors, Directors of Nursing, and nurses up to $50/hour to pop pills out of blister packs to flush them down sinks or toilets or place them into disposal pouches is certainly not the best use of their time, skill set, and salary expense. This practice can cost a community upwards of $14,000 annually in nursing salary alone. Additionally, the ability to streamline disposal options for multiple medication waste streams can reduce the expense of managing multiple disposal solutions by over $2,700 annually. This action reduces disposal solutions from four or five solutions down to only two. Secondly, sewering drugs or placing them into disposal pouches are an inefficient use of the highest-paid staff’s time and efforts. Nursing Directors, Clinical Directors, and nurses in the long-term care setting are spending, on average, 4 hours a week removing pills from their packaging in order to prepare them for disposal, which takes significant time away from direct resident care. Also, after disposing of the pills, the staff is still responsible for disposing of the medication packaging in a HIPAA compliant manner to protect the resident’s protected health information, further contributing to time away from residents in need. Lastly, neither sewering nor disposal pouches are environmentally friendly disposal options. In August 2019, the EPA Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine made it illegal to sewer hazardous waste pharmaceuticals in all 50 states due to the environmental hazards. Plus, there have been several studies published on the fact that medications are showing up in our water streams and that water treatment facilities are not equipped to remove pharmaceuticals as part of their treatment processes. Furthermore, though used drug disposal pouches are designed to be placed directly into the trash, many states have outlawed businesses from landfilling such waste since there is no way to verify the sludge contents within the pouch, which has implications for leachate and its impact on the environment. So, businesses not only pay for the pouches themselves but then must pay a second time to dispose of the pouches as regulated or hazardous waste, which is extremely costly. Fortunately, thanks to the promulgation of both the DEA and EPA rules, there are more efficient, environmentally safe, and cost-effective methods to dispose of controlled, non-controlled, and hazardous waste pharmaceuticals (HWPs) upon adoption of the new EPA rule by each state. The first is the use of a DEA-compliant drug collection receptacle like our MedSafe. With MedSafe, there is no need for your highest-paid employees to spend their time popping pills for disposal. Rather, you simply dispose of the blister pack or pill bottle full of controlled, non-controlled, or HWPs (once the state has adopted the new EPA rule) into the securely locked collection receptacle, which provides the extra benefit of reducing the possibility of diversion. Once the inner liner is full, it is sent directly to our treatment facility via prepaid postage by common carrier. Upon receipt, all liners are incinerated, meeting the DEA and EPA disposal standards. Plus, since all contents are incinerated, the resident’s protected health information is destroyed in a HIPAA compliant manner. Like MedSafe, the DEA also allows for individuals to utilize mail-back envelopes, like our TakeAway Medication Recovery System Envelopes, in their home to dispose of their unwanted medications, controlled and non-controlled, via USPS. An individual simply takes the nondescript envelope, fills it with their unwanted medication bottles and blister packs, seals the envelope, and places it in the mailbox or gives it to the mail carrier. With the prepaid postage, the envelope is sent directly to our treatment facility, where it is incinerated – again, meeting the DEA and EPA destruction standards as well as HIPAA. By using MedSafe or TakeAway Medication Recovery System Envelopes, communities will not only remain compliant with DEA, EPA, and HIPAA, but they also save long-term care communities money, potentially as much as $17,000 annually, with the reduction in the various expenses related to medication disposal. Additionally, these easy, efficient, and time-saving methods of disposal will give nursing staff their valuable time back to care for residents rather than spending their time popping pills out of blister packs. Contact us today at 800.772.5657 to learn more about how we can help your community save money on medication disposal. Read More
November 20, 2019 New Video Puts the Spotlight on Medication Disposal in Long-Term Care Facilities Last updated on April 13, 2021 The EPA’s new rule regarding pharmaceutical waste disposal means that many long-term care (LTC) facilities will have to change their current practices and train employees on the new regulations. In an interview with McKnight’s Long Term Care News, Sharps Compliance’s Director of Regulatory Compliance, Wanda Lingner, explains how the new EPA rule will affect senior living facilities. “Long-term care currently has a myriad of different disposal options. Flushing used to be the way that LTCs could easily dispose of unused medications, but that no longer is allowable per the EPA’s new rule. Now the question is: how do they manage the different types of pharmaceutical waste in the most compliant manner?” How indeed? Lingner answers common questions and concerns that LTC facilities have about compliance under the new rule and how the changes will affect their operations. What are the different methods for medication disposal in long-term care facilities? How does MedSafe save long-term care communities money and staff time? How does the EPA’s new pharmaceutical rule affect medication disposal in long-term care? Watch the interview to learn how it can help your facility streamline medication disposal while making the process safer for residents, the community, and the environment. Get more detailed information about the EPA’s new pharmaceutical rule in these articles: Better options for safe medication disposal in senior living facilities Read our white paper on the EPA’s new hazardous waste pharmaceutical rule EPA’s new pharmaceutical rule: reasons and origins EPA’s new pharmaceutical rule takes effect 8/12/2019 Read More
October 23, 2019 No More Flushing: Better Options for Safe Medication Disposal in Senior Living Facilities Last updated on April 13, 2021 Many senior living providers aren’t aware that some common medication disposal methods may actually be putting them at risk from a compliance standpoint while reducing operational efficiency and eroding the bottom line. A new white paper published by Sharps Compliance and Senior Housing News explains how “best practices” in medication disposal are changing and how senior living providers can benefit from new, safer pharmaceutical disposal options. The new white paper discusses: Proper medication management disposal in senior living communities The latest disposal regulations from the EPA and DEA Cost-saving methods Environmental considerations In particular, the paper addresses the common practice of “sewering,” or flushing medications down the toilet. This disposal method does not meet the Drug Enforcement Agency’s “non-retrievable” standard for destruction of controlled substances. In February 2019, the EPA issued a rule titled “Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine,” which explicitly urged all senior living facilities to stop flushing all medications. There are better medication disposal options that are safe, compliant, and affordable. Learn more about them when you download our free white paper. Read More
