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Published on: December 11, 2016
Unclaimed prescriptions: an overlooked opportunity
1College of Pharmacy, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City.
American Pharmacy
|October 1, 1992
Summary
Unclaimed prescriptions, often new phoned-in orders, represent a significant aspect of medication noncompliance. Analyzing these unclaimed medications can help pharmacists enhance patient services and improve adherence.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Medication Adherence
- Public Health
Background:
- Unclaimed prescriptions are a common but often overlooked issue in community pharmacies.
- This phenomenon contributes to medication noncompliance and potential waste of pharmaceutical resources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the prevalence and characteristics of unclaimed prescriptions in community pharmacies.
- To identify patterns in medication classes and prescription types that remain unclaimed.
- To explore the potential for pharmacists to leverage unclaimed prescription data for improved patient services.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted across 21 community pharmacies.
- Prescriptions unclaimed for 30 days or more were analyzed.
- Data collected included the number of unclaimed prescriptions, their age, and medication class.
Main Results:
- Pharmacies averaged 21.4 unclaimed prescriptions each, totaling 450, with a mean age of 45.6 days.
- Over 50% of unclaimed prescriptions were new, phoned-in orders.
- Anti-infective agents constituted the largest medication class, followed by analgesics and respiratory agents.
Conclusions:
- Unclaimed prescriptions offer valuable insights into medication noncompliance patterns.
- Pharmacists can utilize this data to proactively engage patients and enhance medication-related services.
- Addressing unclaimed prescriptions may improve medication adherence and reduce healthcare costs.
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