Can We Create a Circular Pharmaceutical Supply Chain (CPSC) to Reduce Medicines Waste?

Alshemari, Abdullah; Breen, Liz; Quinn, Gemma; Sivarajah, Uthayasankar

doi:10.3390/pharmacy8040221

Cited by 46 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Proper medicine return refers to returning unused or expired medicines stored at home to regular places, such as pharmacies, hospitals, etc., which residents rarely do at present [ 4 ]. Improper medicine return refers to directly discarding medicines, such as flushing medicines down the sink or toilet, throwing them in the kitchen bin, selling them, etc., which is the most common medicine return behavior of residents [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Proper medicine return and reuse can minimize hazards to the environment and reduce the overall cost of medicines to our society [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alshemari found that only when every stakeholder in the medicine return system collaborates effectively can the whole system operate sufficiently. That includes pharmaceutical companies, distributors, retailers, pharmacies, logistics carriers, residents, and government departments [ 5 ]. According to the study of Bravo, pharmaceutical enterprises can cooperate with distributors and retailers to recover medicines at regular replenishment so as to reduce the round-trip transportation cost of medicines and optimize the medicine return system [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Consequences Awareness of Public Environment on Medicine Return Behavior: A Moderated Chain Mediation Model

Liu

Lay³

2021

IJERPH

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With global aging trends and prosperity in the medicine market, the number of unused or expired household unused or expired medicines is increasing. Medicines which are discarded improperly result in serious pollution. From the perspective of behavioral science, the main contribution of this paper is the construction of a chain mediation model to analyze the influence mechanism between consequences awareness of the public environment and proper return behavior of unused or expired medicines. The model explores the moderating effect of personal health awareness with through observation of to the mediating effect of personal norms and return intention. Using a sample size of 366 residents from China, the proposed hypotheses are empirically tested. The results show: firstly, the direct effect of residents’ consequences awareness of public environmental awareness on the proper medicine return behavior is not significant; secondly, return intention plays a mediating role in the positive effect of consequences awareness of the public environment on proper return behavior; thirdly, personal norms and return intention play a chain mediating role in the positive impact of consequences awareness of the public environment on proper return behavior; and lastly, personal health awareness moderates the chain mediation path by strengthening the positive effect of return intention on proper return behavior.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Consequences Awareness of Public Environment on Medicine Return Behavior: A Moderated Chain Mediation Model

Liu

Lay³

2021

IJERPH

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“…Lack of production and inventory planning (Uthayakumar & Priyan, 2013 ) Lack of demand forecasting disturbs the demand and supply gap, resulting in overproduction and expired medications B8. The low shelf life of medicines (Alshemari et al, 2020 ) Low quality and quick expiry of the medicines B9. Difficulty in the visibility of the supply chain (Sara et al, 2018 ) The complexity of the pharmaceutical supply chain makes it difficult to monitor the entire supply chain B10.…”

Section: Data Collection and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effective segregation of medical waste on the consumer level would further ensure sustainable waste management practices such as recycling and reusing products. A good example of this can be the reusing and recycling of the outer packaging or cartage of inhalers (Alshemari et al, 2020 ). Supporting legislation from the government bodies can be beneficial in improving the overall RL infrastructure, a good example of which can be the supporting laws in Portugal (Niza et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Data Collection and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of the circular supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry

Khan

Ali

2022

Environ Dev Sustain

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The ever-increasing levels of pollution and waste creation have subjected industries around the world to incorporate the concept of circular economy (CE) in their supply chains. The amalgamation of the CE approach along with supply chain management is called circular supply chain management (CSCM). Among other industries, the pharmaceutical industry is also involved in damaging the ecosystem. Hence, an effective framework for the adoption of CSCM in a particular industry is very essential. Therefore, this paper aims to devise a model that will help the pharmaceutical industries to adopt CSCM in their organizations. For this purpose, the study in the first phase identifies ten barriers that are working as an impediment in the adoption of the CSCM approach. To counter those barriers, the study in the second phase identifies a set of twelve enablers. To analyse the barriers and enablers, the study uses a new hybrid methodology. For allocating weights and prioritizing the barriers, the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique, i.e. fuzzy full consistency method (F-FUCOM) is used, whereas the total quality management tool, i.e. fuzzy quality function deployment (FQFD) is used to rank the enablers. The results from F-FUCOM suggest “lack of financial resources and funding”, “market challenges”, and “lack of coordination and collaboration among the entire supply chain network” to be the top-most barriers, respectively, whereas the results achieved from the FQFD suggest “industrial symbiosis”, “Reverse Logistic (RL) infrastructure”, and “block chain technology” to be the top-ranked enablers, respectively. The provision of a facilitating framework for the adoption of CSCM in the pharmaceutical industry and the newly developed hybrid methodology are both novelties of this study.

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“…Redistributing unused medications can reduce healthcare waste and costs, and enhance access to care [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Patients are recognized as the primary consumers of reused medications and as one of the potential primary sources of medications to be reused [23][24][25][26][27]. Therefore, understanding the interplay between patients and their medications will clarify the types of risk that medication reuse can minimize, guide its efficient implementation, and illuminate its benefit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medication Use and Storage, and Their Potential Risks in US Households

Lee

Schommer

2022

Pharmacy

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Background: Medications stored in US households may pose risks to vulnerable populations and the environment, potentially increasing societal costs. Research regarding these aspects is scant, and interventions like medication reuse may alleviate negative consequences. The purpose of this study was to describe medications stored in US households, gauge their potential risk to minors (under 18 years of age), pets, and the environment, and estimate potential costs of unused medications. Methods: A survey of 220 US Qualtrics panel members was completed regarding medications stored at home. Published literature guided data coding for risks to minors, pets, and the environment and for estimating potential costs of unused medications. Results: Of the 192 households who provided usable and complete data, 154 (80%) reported storing a medication at home. Most medications were taken daily for chronic diseases. The majority of households with residents or guests who are minors and those with pets reported storing medications with a high risk of poisoning in easily accessible areas such as counters. Regarding risk to the aquatic environment, 46% of the medications had published data regarding this risk. For those with published data, 42% presented a level of significant risk to the aquatic environment. Unused medications stored at home had an estimated potential cost of $98 million at a national level. Implications/Conclusions: Medications stored at home may pose risks to vulnerable populations and the environment. More research regarding medications stored in households and their risks is required to develop innovative interventions such as medication reuse to prevent any potential harm.

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Can We Create a Circular Pharmaceutical Supply Chain (CPSC) to Reduce Medicines Waste?

Cited by 46 publications

References 57 publications

The Impact of Consequences Awareness of Public Environment on Medicine Return Behavior: A Moderated Chain Mediation Model

The Impact of Consequences Awareness of Public Environment on Medicine Return Behavior: A Moderated Chain Mediation Model

Implementation of the circular supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry

Medication Use and Storage, and Their Potential Risks in US Households

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