Unused Pharmaceuticals in the Health Care Industry: Interim Report

摘要

EPA initiated the study of unused pharmaceutical disposal practices at health care facilities with the goals of understanding one way in which pharmaceuticals enter our waterways and also understanding what factors contribute to pharmaceuticals entering through water. While EPA understands that there are many factors influencing the handling and disposal of pharmaceuticals by the health care industry, the focus of EPA's study is on disposal into water. EPA decided to study medical facilities because the Agency believes that these facilities dispose of a large quantity of unused pharmaceuticals. Thus far, EPA has only evaluated hospitals and long-term care facilities, so the information in this interim report pertains only to hospitals and long-term care facilities. Recently EPA decided to expand the scope of its study to include hospices and veterinary facilities and intends to issue a nationwide information collection request to gather better, representative data. Hospitals include general and medical surgical hospitals, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, and specialty hospitals, such as those treating cancer. Long-term care facilities include nursing care facilities, residential mental retardation facilities, and continuing care retirement communities.