DEA Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Collection Site Locator Now Available

April 9, 2014 5:30 PM

Written by: NABP National Association of  Boards of Pharmacy

Now available online, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day collection site locator allows consumers to search for a nearby location to dispose of unneeded medications on Saturday, April 26, 2014. On this day, from 10 am to 2 pm, thousands of DEA-coordinated collection sites will be available across the country, and consumers are encouraged to use this opportunity to safely and legally dispose of any unneeded pills, including prescription pain pills and other controlled substance medications, as these pills can only be accepted for disposal when law enforcement is present.

DEA reminds consumers that the take-back service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked. Sites will accept tablets, capsules, and all other solid dosage forms of unwanted medication. Personal information may be blacked out on prescription bottles, or medications may be emptied from the bottles into the bins provided at the events. Check the DEA collection site locator often, as new locations will be added until April 26, 2014.

Consumers have disposed of over 3.4 million pounds of unwanted medication during previous DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days. During the seventh DEA take-back event on October 26, 2013, more than 5,500 locations provided take-back services across all 50 states and US territories. More information and a link to the DEA Take-Back Day collection site locator is available on theAWARxE® website.

USP Releases First Universal Standards for Content and Appearance of Prescription Container Labels With Goal to Promote Patient Understanding

 

USP Releases First Universal Standards for Content and Appearance of Prescription Container Labels With Goal to Promote Patient Understanding

New United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) standards for a universal approach to the format, appearance, content, and instructions for medicines in containers dispensed by pharmacists have been released. “Wide variability in prescription container labels exists today across individual prescriptions, pharmacies, retail chains and states. The USP standards provide specific direction on how to organize labels in a ‘patient-centered’ manner that best reflects how most patients seek out and understand medication instructions,” as explained in a USP press release. Lack of universal standards for medication labeling can contribute to patients misunderstanding dosage instructions and can lead to medication errors.

Elements of the new USP standards, contained in General Chapter <17> Prescription Container Labeling, of the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary, include:

• Emphasizing instructions and other information important to patients
• Improving readability
• Giving explicit instructions
• Including purpose for use
• Addressing limited English proficiency
• Addressing visual impairment

Descriptions of each standard including examples, as well as more information about the development of the standards is available in a USP press release (PDF). The final standard will be published in November 2012. Enforcement of the standard will be the decision of individual state boards of pharmacy, which may choose to adopt it into their regulations, notes USP. NABP member boards adopted a resolution at the 108^th NABP Annual Meeting stating that the Association should support state boards of pharmacy in efforts to require a standardized prescription label. NABP also convened a task force on this issue in December 2008, and the Report of the NABP Task Force on Uniform Prescription Labeling Requirements is available on the NABP Web site.