Heruitgifte van ongebruikte geneesmiddelen

BACKGROUND Medication waste has undesirable economic and environmental consequences. This waste is partly unavoidable but might be reduced by redispensing medicines unused by patients. However, there is little knowledge of stakeholders' views on the redispensing. OBJECTIVE To identify the stakeholders' views on the redispensing of medicines unused by patients. DESIGN AND METHODS Qualitative study in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 Dutch stakeholders from September 20M until April 2015. The interview guide included two themes: medication waste and redispensing of unused medicines. The latter included qualitative, legal and financial aspects and stakeholder involvement with specific attention for the patient. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic content analysis. RESULTS All stakeholders considered the redispensing of medicines desirable if the implementation is feasible and the requirements for the safe redispensing are met. All of them pointed out that the product quality of redispensed medicines should be guaranteed and that it should be clear who is responsible for the quality of redispensed medicines. The stakeholders stated that transparent communication to patients is essential to guarantee trust in the redispensing system and that patients should be willing to use redispensed medicines. Moreover, the redispensing system's benefits should outweigh the costs and a minimal economic value of medicines suitable for redispensing should be determined. CONCLUSION Redispensing unused medicines could decrease medication waste if several requirements are met. For successful implementation of a redispensing system, all relevant stakeholders should be involved and cooperate as a joint-force.