Our network member Floow2 have released the results from a pilot they did among pharmacists to reduce medication wastage. Below you'll find what they said about the results!
Medicine Marketplace saves thousands of Euros'
Wastage of medication is a hotly debated issue that primarily relates to packages returned by patients. It is estimated that in the Netherlands alone, we throw away at least 100 million Euros’ worth of medicines every year. Besides patients, pharmacies and suppliers also regularly have to deal with leftovers and wastage.
In the latter case, we are referring to medication that has been retained and stored according to the applicable rules and legislation and is still of high quality. These medicines are eventually discarded by the pharmacy and destroyed after the expiration date has passed. The production of medicines is one of the most ecologically harmful processes in healthcare, so the destruction of good quality products leads to increased environmental pressure, contributes to unnecessary waste of resources and leads to an unnecessary increase in the costs of healthcare. This type of medicine wastage is often overlooked as most research is primarily focused on patients.
Sharing Marketplace
PharmaSwap is a unique sharing marketplace for pharmacists, hospital-based or otherwise, that creates transparency in the supply and demand for expensive medicines. By connecting supply and demand in a professional manner, participating pharmacists aim to reduce wastage of medicines that would otherwise remain on the shelves of the pharmacy, wholesale organization or pharmaceutical company only to end up passing the expiration date. It is exclusively meant for medication that was never issued to a patient and has always remained under the strictly controlled storage conditions legally imposed on pharmacies. Moreover, the shipment of traded goods through PharmaSwap is organized in a safe, GDP compliant manner to guarantee safety and quality at every stage.
Circular procurement
By focusing on medication that has consistently been stored under professional conditions within the pharmaceutical chain, huge cost savings can be made and circular practices are introduced: fewer products, and consequently resources, have to be destroyed and fewer demands are placed on resources and energy supplies for the manufacture of new medicines. As such, this sharing marketplace perfectly fits a circular procurement policy.
Results
20 pharmacists took part in a pilot conducted over the past few months. As a result of this pilot, the destruction of 68 packages was avoided; instead they were re-issued to patients. These 68 packages represent a total procurement value of Euro 54,000. With 2,000 pharmacies in the Netherlands alone, these results indicate the magnitude of the circular impact PharmaSwap can achieve if rolled out on a large scale.
This article is written by or on behalf of a member of the network and any statements, claims and opinions are theirs and not necessarily NCSH's.
