DHA discusses ‘Clean your medicine cabinet,' campaign during smart clinic.

Public encouraged to drop-off expired or unutilized medication at any of the DHA pharmacies in Dubai

Campaign in line with authority’s efforts to ensure safe disposal of expired medication

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 16, 2014: The Dubai Health Authority  discussed the ‘Clean your medicine cabinet’ campaign, during its smart clinic.

As part of the campaign, DHA pharmacies located across DHA primary healthcare centres and its hospitals- Dubai, Rashid, Latifa and Hatta- will accept expired or unutilized medication which is dropped-off at the pharmacy by the public.

The campaign was first launched in 2012, is on-going and aims to educate the public about the right way off disposing off unutilized or expired medicines.

DHA pharmacies take-back expired or unutilized medication. Expired medication is disposed off in line with international pharmaceutical safety guidelines. Unutilized medication is first  reevaluated by experts within the pharmacy department and DHA donates valid medication which is in a good condition to charities.

Dr. Ali Sayed, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services Department at DHA, said:  “The campaign is being held to ensure people do not store expired medication in their homes as it is a safety hazard. Our aim is to ensure correct method of disposal, which is returning back expired or unutilized medication to pharmacies.”

He added that residents can return these medications to DHA pharmacies located across Dubai at no cost.

He said: “The program is ongoing and its aim is to ensures safe and effective disposal of old or expired prescription drugs, oral dosage , over-the counter medications and natural health products.

Expired medication can pose serious health risks to individuals if not disposed of properly. Instead of flushing down your medication, which is harmful for the environment and pollutes the water, outdated medications should be returned back to pharmacies, to ensure they will be safely disposed.”

He added that the DHA coordinates with Dubai Municipality to dispose off expired medication.

In terms of ensuring safety of medicines that are stored at home, he said that medicines should be checked regularly to ensure the medicine box does not have expired medication. “Medicines should be stored in a cool and dry place; they should be in one container that is out of the reach and sight of children and pets. These are basic precautions which parents should always keep in mind.”

He added that DHA pharmacies have approximately 1500 medicines and that the Authority procures new approved medicines on a regular basis to ensure doctors have flexibility while prescribing medicines and that patients have access to the latest medicines.

He also said that DHA aims to move towards a smart pharmacy system, which is in the pipeline and was announced at GITEX this year.