The stats around drug misuse and its consequences are eye-opening: 60,000 kids under age five go to the emergency room from prescription drug poisoning per year, and 70 percent of teens say they got drugs that weren’t intended for them from family, friends, or home medicine cabinets.
The key to preventing these incidents is clearing the rows of pill bottles from those home cabinets and disposing of them properly.
Inmar Intelligence, a company heavily involved in drug take back programs, has been working toward a solution for some time. What research tells them so far is that most people are aware that mismanaged medications is a serious problem – 70 percent of 1,000 consumers said so in a recent Inmar survey and expressed concern. Yet 55 percent of them still dispose of unwanted scripts improperly.
What’s perhaps most telling is that, despite their habits, 73% of the respondents said they were interested in a program to get rid of their old prescriptions the right way rather than hold onto them, flush them, or toss them in the trash.
“That indicates a lot of confusion in the marketplace. ‘I have these medications, but what am I supposed to do with them?’ What we gathered from this information is that convenience and having a clear, easy way to dispose of medications becomes a key factor,” says Kirk Herweck, senior director, Consumer Drug Take-Back at Inmar Intelligence.
What needs to be in place is greater awareness fueled by facts and paired with more recourses.
“People need to better understand the cost of not disposing of drugs properly and the value of doing it right. And they must have the opportunity to actually take action,” Herweck says.
Scattered here and there are hospitals, clinics, and law enforcement agencies with on-site medication drop-off boxes or mail-back programs. This includes about 20,000 of the U.S.’s roughly 88,000 pharmacies, equipped with kiosks where consumers can leave unwanted prescription meds. And a patchwork of community-led initiatives pick up some of the slack, for instance giving out pouches containing carbon that deactivates medication so it can be safely thrown in the trash.
But there needs to be more options in more places, in plain site. And there needs to be clear, consistent messaging, Herweck says. He calls out pharmacists as the ones who should take the lead.
“The pharmacy is the best place both for education and disposal because it’s where consumers get their drugs. They are reminded while it’s in their hands that proper disposal is important. It’s seeing the [collection] kiosk and signage. It’s recognizing displays on the counter with drug disposal envelopes.”
Meijer pharmacy in Hudsonville, Michigan has a kiosk prominently placed by its service counters.
The team uses an “awareness counter” displaying the amount of medications disposed of. This collection site serves as an information base, where people find printed marketing materials about the drug take back program and other information on proper disposal.
“So, the kiosk is an active part of what we promote, not just a piece of ‘furniture’ in the corner of a waiting room,” says Kevin Hurn, director of Pharmacy Procurement and New Business, Meijer.
Program information is included with the printed materials about each prescription. And the pharmacy team tells customers about other avenues like National Drug Take Back Days.
“I think knowing that there are options and the gentle reminders as they pick up their meds are effective. The store teams get a lot of questions about disposal from the public, and I think it’s due to the awareness campaigning that we have been doing for the last four years,” Hurn says.
But another focus calls for more attention in his eyes.
“The Drug Take Back programs as they relate to the opioid crisis are important. But I think we need to further educate people of the environmental needs to properly dispose of all medications. While Drug Take Back is a DEA-focused event it should be expanded as an EPA-sponsored program too,” he says.
While pharmacies are seen as a logical early touch point, Herwek points to others; the long list: “anyone who makes money on drugs distributed in communities.”
That includes pharmaceutical manufacturers [so far seven states have laws to promote drug take back, paid for by drug manufacturers]. He calls out corporations that work with pharmacies, wholesalers that distribute drugs, insurance companies ...
They should all be involved in education and incentives and join the conversation on how to motivate consumers, he says.
Real impact only happens if the bug stays in consumers’ ears once they go home and put their newly purchased script in the cabinet. Ideally, when they see the old stash, they are inspired to take the time to dispose of it properly.
That’s where messaging comes in. But what will pack the most meaningful punch?
Research shows emotional messages carry weight, but logic is an influencer too, which is why statistics, as jarring as some are, seem important, especially when reaching out to parents. They generally listen to what they believe will help them protect their kids as well as the environment and world where they raise them.
Social media and influence of marketing are fairly new tools to try and shape behaviors in this space. As soon as internet surfers click on a link or drop in keywords like “proper waste disposal,” or “drug take back,” programmatic media starts funneling more information to them.
It’s a new way to tap into an old outreach tactic—basically sending a reoccurring message to wherever it will be routinely seen and heard.
Herweck points to what happened with seat belts. Years ago, almost no one wore them; then a public awareness campaign emerged, and it gained momentum. By the early 1970’s it “went viral” – or so that is how the hold on the public would be described today.
Inmar is engaged in a project involving putting QR codes on drug collection kiosks to learn why people use them. Consumers are asked questions to help pharmacists understand how they learned about the kiosk; if they have more drugs at home; and which statistics most motivate them.
“We are basically trying to understand who is using the kiosks and why. And if they are doing it for a certain reason is that something we can learn from to motivate others?” Herweck says.
Robust change will take time. And the messages driving it can’t get lost, even if and when proper drug disposal becomes a mainstream practice. Herweck goes back to seat belts. Decades after the strengthening push to buckle up flashed across billboards and TV screens and infiltrated radio, you still see and hear the message “click it or ticket.”
“It’s still going on. And how long have they been around?” he says.
He revisits another of his earlier points—shining the spotlight again on those who capitalize on the prescription drug industry.
“I think the pharmaceutical market can handle the education and drug take back efforts [as car manufacturers got behind installing seat belts and the public awareness campaigns].
“We are seeing movements with retailers who want to take care of consumers and movements by large manufacturers in their ESG programs to be sure they are taking steps to protect the environment and people,” he says.
“I do not think policy is the right way to go. I think the pharmacy market will drive this movement if we let them.”