Waste of prescribed pharmaceutical items is a major issue. In 2015 NHS England conservatively estimated that at least GBP300 million was spent on unused medicines. In addition, unwanted and unused medicines are often disposed of incorrectly, and this has significant, negative environmental and pollution impacts. Both the prevention of over-prescribing, over-ordering or unnecessary dispensing of medicine, and the return of unused medicines in a way that they can be safely put back into the system have the potential to markedly improve the situation.
So how can technology reduce pharmaceutical waste?