Re: [e-drug] Can expired drug still be used? (6)

["Geoffrey Ngwira" <geofmmn@yahoo.co.uk>]

E-DRUG: Can expired drug still be used? (6)
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Dear E-drug Users,

The comments on the topic are interesting. Could
someone please tell us what should be followed when a
drug expires. Should the drug be discarded/destroyed
or should it be kept for a little while waiting for
any emergency it may be useful for?

Some medical officer once landed into in trouble when
he tried to assist a patient using an expired drug
when he had no alternative. The problem was that the
patient's relatives discovered that their loved one
was given expired drugs and it became a serious issue
when the patient was not helped by the drug.

It may be nice sometimes to inform stakeholders about
the action one intends to take with regard to expired
medicines.

Geoffrey Ngwira B.Pharm
Y.B. Pharmaceuticals
P.O. Box 5938
Limbe
Malawi

[Expired drugs should in principle no longer be used; so in principle they should be removed from the stock and destroyed or sent back to the manufacturer/wholesaler for safe disposal.
Keeping them for emergencies should only be considered as a last resort; this should only happen if there are no fresh, "non-expired" drugs in the store. Patients have the right to know they can only get no drug or an expired one, and should take an informed decision with the health worker. To avoid routine dispensing, it might be safer to have expired drugs for "emergencies" stored in a different location, away from the normal pharmacy.
In some countries it is illegal to stock or dispense expired drugs.
WB]
	
	
		
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