ULS reinforces the fight against medicine waste in hospital pharmacies
Health
Since May 2024, the Coimbra Local Health Unit (ULS) has been developing a structured and continuous effort to reduce the waste of medicines in its hospital units, namely through improving the registration, traceability and management processes of unused medicines due to their expiration date. According to data from UL, in the hospitals that were part of the former Coimbra University Hospital Center, between 2020 and 2023, the values associated with the destruction of medicines ranged between 188 thousand and 317 thousand euros per year. However – he adds – “until April 2024, these values did not accurately reflect the reality of waste, since it was common practice to record as actual consumption to the requesting service medicines that, despite not being used, were not returned to suppliers or reused – a situation frequently seen in drugs prescribed to patients who, in the meantime, discontinued treatment”.
In May 2024, invalidations due to expired validity began to be “correctly recorded and communicated”, eliminating distortions in pharmaceutical consumption and waste indicators.
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