Madam, – In your Editorial (March 29th) you rightly concluded that the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly is correct to abolish the prescription charge, but that he must prioritise other means of tackling waste of unused medications.
Pharmacists have an important role ensuring patient safety and in tackling waste through medicines use reviews. There is a Medicines Use Reviews pilot programme currently being evaluated which we hope will eventually be fully rolled out. This will ensure better compliance, better quality of life for patients, reduced wastage and less admission to hospitals. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – To eliminate “stashes” of unused prescription medicines, patients could be asked to return the used container before receiving the next batch.
I’m sure pharmacists could be compensated for the necessary recycling. – Yours, etc,