BISMARCK -- For years, people have tried to return leftover prescription drugs to their pharmacists, saying it seems a shame to throw them away.
"And it is," says Bismarck pharmacist Rick Detwiller.
Until this summer, the drugs had to be tossed, including cancer drugs that can cost even a patient with insurance hundreds of dollars a month. It was illegal to give them to another patient, no matter how badly needed.
Now a new law will allow consumers or doctors to return many unused prescription drugs to pharmacists or clinics and they can be given to someone else who needs them.
The cost to the new patient should be, at the most, a token fee. There is no means test. That is, no one seeking the drugs will be asked about their income, their assets or whether they have insurance. That doesn't matter.
ADVERTISEMENT
The law was written as broadly as possible, said Howard Anderson, executive director of the state Board of Pharmacy.
"If you have a prescription for the drug, you're qualified," he said.
Detwiller, a member of the state Board of Pharmacy, said that what matters is that perfectly good medication will no longer be thrown away.
The state Board of Pharmacy will coordinate the program, aiming for an Aug. 1 kickoff. Its Web site, www.nodakpharmacy.com , will soon have a page devoted to the program showing what drugs are available for the taking through participating pharmacies.
Unfortunately, many drugs won't qualify. People will not be able to turn back loose pills from those garden variety amber bottles.
The law will apply to pills and syringes in sealed blister packs, pills dispensed to patients in a manufacturer's bottle with its under-cap seal intact, and to vials of injectable drugs if the cap covering the stopper hasn't been removed. The drugs can't be expired.
Anderson credits Deb Knuth of North Dakota's American Cancer Society with bringing the law change to the Legislature in January. She heard of other states with the program.
Knuth also knew some of the most expensive drugs going to waste were for cancer treatment. At the same time, she was hearing heart-wrenching tales from cancer patients and their families who could not afford treatment.
ADVERTISEMENT
She said cancer drugs are often left over because a patient may get one dose only to find that particular medication is not going to work for him or creates a bad reaction.
Detwiller illustrated the expense with a vial of Epogen, an injectable drug used to boost the red blood cells of cancer patients. It costs more than $100 per dose.
Displaying a box for the anti-nausea drug Zofran, he said, "My cost on this is $750 for a box of 30." Because it is dispensed in blister packs holding each tablet, returns can be used by someone else under the new program. He saw a customer recently who has insurance and still had a bill of $150 for his prescription.
"These drugs are just staggering," he said.
That's something June Lehr, registered nurse for the Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, knows all too well.
Lehr can't wait for the new drug exchange program to launch.
Ruth Meiers is Bismarck's homeless shelter, and Lehr sees residents all the time who need to stay on mental health prescriptions so they can get and hold a job. Others are fighting infection or need to medicate blood pressure, thyroid disorders and diabetes.
"That's my daily challenge," she said. "I saw 2,800 people in my clinic last year."
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile she takes calls like one from a Veterans Administration clinic saying they'd just received a shipment of medication for someone and the person had died before it could be used.
Anderson and Detwiller are concerned the program, while a good idea, may not get a lot of use, but Lehr and Knuth are hopeful.
"I've already had clinics call me and tell me they want to participate," Knuth said.
Cole works for Forum Communications Co., which owns The Jamestown Sun
