The news reports were based on a report by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges that discussed how doctors can think critically about waste from a clinical perspective, as opposed to waste in a product sense. But, when waste in a "product sense", such as wasted medicines, accounts for £300m (according to the Academy Of Medical Royal Colleges), what else can the healthcare sector consider while undertaking measures to reduce physical waste? Medicines have to be disposed of by incineration and hazardous medicines (those classified as cytotoxic or cytostatic) have to be incinerated at a higher temperature than other wastes. These wastes can be anything from out-of-date stock to unwanted and unused medicines returned by a patient Pharmacists and GPs can never reuse medicines returned by patients, even if they are within their expiry dates, because their quality and safety cannot be guaranteed.
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