Sludge Watch ==> Millions $$ in Pills - Going Down the Drain

[Maureen Reilly]

Millions In Pills - Going Down The Drain

NEW ORLEANS, April 11, 2008

(CBS)

It's a ritual at nursing homes across the country that few outsiders ever 
witness. Brand new medicine left over from patients whose prescriptions 
changed, who were discharged or passed away, is methodically punched out of 
unopened blister packs and, unbelievably, flushed down the toilet, CBS News 
investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. At St. Anthony's 
nursing home in New Orleans, the deed is done by a former ER nurse who was 
stunned when she first saw so many drugs going down the drain. "I'd see 
people coming into the ER who are so ill because they haven't been able to 
afford their medicine. And here I was flushing what they needed down the 
toilet," said Pam Rowland, director of nursing at St. Anthony's. "It's 
discouraging."

Federal law has long required nursing homes to destroy leftover drugs to 
protect against misuse. Turns out the simplest way to get rid of them is 
flushing. And it's been common practice as long as chief pharmacist Jack 
Sassone can remember. "We've got policy-makers that make these policies for 
us and we have to follow," said Sassone. Nobody knows just how much 
perfectly good medicine is being flushed at nursing homes nationwide, but 
one study puts the value as high as $378 million a year. And because most 
older Americans are covered by government prescription drug plans, you are 
paying for all that waste. At another nursing home we agreed not to 
identify, a nurse is also busy punching pills. Each card represents a wasted 
prescription:

$100 worth of an Alzheimer's drug (Namenda).

A $260 prescription for a memory medicine (Exelon).

$300 worth of blood thinner (Plavix).

The medicine also includes unopened syringes full of medicine to prevent 
blood clots. One box of ten syringes costs more than $1,000, but won't be 
helping anybody. The FDA, which regulates drug disposal, has decided against 
creating a national program to donate the drugs to the poor, and instead 
leaves it up to the states. Without federal direction, they haven't figured 
out how to do it effectively on a large scale. Back at St. Anthony's, the 
owner says he'd rather to see the medicine go to those who can't afford it. 
But there's no place in New Orleans that takes it. So the ritual continues. 
Even after all the pill punching we saw, there's more.

"You'll notice, if you can see, I have four boxes," Rowland said. Boxes of 
valuable pills and your tax dollars … flushed.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/11/eveningnews/main4010772.shtml?source=mostpop_story