Unscripted: $40 million problem of wasted medicines

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Unscripted: $40 million problem of wasted medicines

Bruce Lee
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In an ideal world, patients would be prescribed the correct amount of medications and would complete their courses. Unused drugs would not be flushed down the toilet, wasting precious health dollars and creating potential environmental problems. New Zealand Doctor reporter Bruce Lee investigates what lies behind medicines wastage and what is being done about it

A half-empty bottle of codeine sits in the medicine cabinet. Beside it sits a box of loratadine with a dozen of the 30 tablets missing. Incomplete cou