Walmart offers solution to alleviate opioid crisis
Chemical mix can dispose of leftover prescriptions
Walmart is taking on the opioid abuse crisis with a safe solution to dispose of unused prescriptions.
The big-box retailer said it will become the first national drug chain to offer such a free opioid disposal option at all its pharmacy locations.
Walmart is teaming with a Southern Pines, N.C., company called DisposeRx on a solution that consists of a small packet with an FDA-safe chemical blend that, when emptied into a pill bottle with warm water, lets patients dispose of any leftover medications in the trash. The medications — they can be powder, pills, tablets, capsules or liquids — are converted into a biodegradable gel. DisposeRx started in 2015.
As part of its efforts to address drug addiction, Walmart said it will provide counseling to prescription customers at its 4,700 pharmacy locations.
“The health and safety of our patients is a critical priority; that’s why we’re taking an active role in fighting our nation’s opioid issue — an issue that has affected so many families and communities across America,” said Marybeth Hays, executive vice president of Consumables and Health and Wellness at Walmart U.S., in a statement.
“While this issue requires many resources to solve, we are confident this
unique, easy-to-use disposal solution, DisposeRx, will make a meaningful impact on the lives of many.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Institute of Drug Abuse said about two-thirds of people who misuse prescription opioids get them from family or friends.
Walmart said patients will receive a free DisposeRx packet and opioid safety information brochure whenever they fill and pick up any new Class II opioid prescription at Walmart pharmacies. Patients with recurring Class II opioid prescriptions can receive the packet every six months. Pharmacy patients can request a free packet at any time.
The DisposeRx packets will be made available at Sam’s Club as well.
“Seventy percent (of the opioid problem) begins in the medicine cabinet,” said John Holaday, cofounder and CEO of DisposeRx. “If we can curb that, we’ll stop an awful lot of this.”
In the Walmart release, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said: “About onethird of medications sold go unused. Too often, these dangerous narcotics remain unsecured where children, teens or visitors may have access.”
Walmart is not the only major chain trying to address the opioid epidemic.
Walgreens said it was the first drugstore chain to install safe medication disposal kiosks at its pharmacies to allow people to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired prescriptions, including controlled substances and over-the-counter medications, at no cost.
The kiosks are available during regular pharmacy hours in more than 600 pharmacies.
Walgreens said it has collected more than 155 tons of unwanted medication since the program launched in February 2016.
This past September, CVS Health said it would limit opioid prescriptions to seven-day supplies for new patients facing certain acute conditions.
CVS also provides drug disposal kiosks at its pharmacies and offers counseling to patients who are prescribed opioids for the first time.
Andrew Kolodny, co-director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, applauded such limits, but he predicted that the Walmart initiative wouldn’t be especially helpful.
Though the idea that people shouldn’t flush leftover pills because of environmental concerns applies to many medications, Kolodny said, it does not apply to opioids.
He dismissed the notion that leftover medications fuel the addiction epidemic.
Instead, he said, “the root of the opioid problem is that doctors are giving people more pills than they need.”
“The health and safety of our patients is a critical priority; that’s why we’re taking an active role in fighting our nation’s opioid issue — an issue that has affected so many families and communities across America.” Marybeth Hays Consumables and Health and Wellness at Walmart U.S.