PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Leach, R. H.
AU  - White, P. L.
TI  - Use and wastage of prescribed medicines in the home
DP  - 1978 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
PG  - 32--36
VI  - 28
IP  - 186
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/28/186/32.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/28/186/32.full
SO  - J R Coll Gen Pract1978 Jan 01; 28
AB  - A survey of prescribed medicines was carried out in 192 homes, broadly representative of households in England and Wales. The average home had 3·2 containers of such medicines; 56 per cent were in current use, 16 per cent in occasional use, and 28 per cent were never used. One fifth of all oral antibiotics found in the study were wasted. A rough estimate suggests that £23 million of prescription products (5·6 per cent of the total) are wasted annually in England and Wales.