At your disposal: A pilot for safely discarding medication in postoperative patients

The improper storage of and unsafe disposal methods for leftover and expired prescription medication represent a risk for diversion, misuse, and other public health issues. Health care providers are well positioned to offer education and resources for the safe disposal of medication.

A quality improvement pilot was constructed to provide education and a medication disposal packet to patients who received a prescription for an opioid on discharge from Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital after surgery. Objectives were to assess the packet's utility and to determine whether proximity of existing community takeback bins had any effect on packet usage.

Five weeks after discharge, patients received an automated phone call to evaluate their use of the disposal packet. Call responses were the primary data point for determining success, with a goal of greater than 50% packet use. Demographic data were collected retrospectively to assess the count of medication disposal bins within the patient's ZIP Code.

Of a total of 532 unique patients, 239 responded to the automated survey, indicating how they planned to use the disposal packet provided to them on discharge. Of the 239 responses, 150 (63%) patients either used or planned to use the packet. In addition, a chi-square test of independence and a z test for the difference in proportion of packets used showed that the existence of 2 or more community takeback bins per ZIP Code was associated with packet nonuse (P < 0.05).

Public health resources can help address medication disposal issues that contribute to environmental contamination, opioid misuse, overdose, and death. Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital outpatients have a need for safe medication disposal initiatives and education, especially in communities with fewer existing means.