In light of the MRHA's proposed changes to inter-pharmacy trade,
Rxchange would like to establish the amount of ethical stock wasted nationally across UK
pharmacies and would appreciate your help with this survey. Your response to
the question is anonymous. Once you have voted you will see the average polled wastage figure. The results are updated in real time.
Thanks for your help.
If you have an Rxchange account, please log in before you complete the survey - we don't track your answer but it will stop us from reminding you to complete it.
25 CommentsThe inter-pharmacy trade at Rxchange allows me to sell off drugs which would eventually have gone out of date. Out of date drugs are destroyed by incineration adding to pollution and contributing towards global warming, albeit, in a small way.
RxChange is a great way of doing stock swap that we have always done amongst local colleagues for decades, only difference being we can do the same with colleagues from a much wider area and with ease of paper work. It is a fantastic platform based not only on trust but declarations made by individual pharmacists who are accountable to offering for sale only products which have been stored correctly and are in good condition. To stop this will create more waste which goes against the ethos of saving wastage.
I originally added this to the MHRA discussion but thought it would be useful here to show how the figures are calculated...
Using publicly available figures for the cost of medicines to the NHS for 2006/2007, we see:
£8.1B Primary care prescriptions dispensed in the community England
£0.2B Hospital prescribed, dispensed in community England
£0.6B Prescriptions dispensed in the community in Wales
£0.9B Prescriptions dispensed in the community in Scotland
£0.4B Prescriptions dispensed in the community in Northern Ireland
Total prescriptions dispensed in the community £10.2B
Therefore assuming total value of £10B
Ethical waste @ 4% = £400,000,000 (£0.4B);
There are 11,000 Pharmacies in England and Wales
There are 1,150 pharmacies in Scotland
There are 514 pharmacies in Northern Ireland
Total UK pharmacies = 12,600 (approx)
Therefore £400,000,000/12,600 pharmacies = £31.7K average cost of ethical waste per UK pharmacy. Therefore a chain of 8 pharmacies would write-off £0.25M.
These figures to not consider waste from OTC, private scripts, dentists, vets, wholesalers or from the additional £2.8B dispensed by hospital pharmacies. Neither do they consider the financial and environmental costs of transporting and destroying the waste.
Incidentally, £400M was also the figure for the Oct 07 Cat M clawback.
RxChange has allowed us to recoup some money we would otherwise have lost. We try to keep regular items in stock even if it is only for one patient. However, if they cease to be prescribed these items we are often stuck with the product till it passes it's expiry date.
Nonsense research such as this does more harm than good. The calculations are little advanced from those seen on the back of a cigarette packet.
Concentrate on the excellent service - not so called research
So far I have sold more than £1000 stock which otherwise would have expired. Mostly expensive items, otherwise in future I will not risk ordering for fear of loss/expiry. If the inter-trade between pharmacy closes, I will not have any option other than deprive patients access to expensive medicines on time. I currently have well over £2000 of short-dated item listed but so far not sold. Mostly very expensive branded items.
Approx 5%
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