From The Denver Post (Monte Whaley):
Senate Bill 115, which would allow facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals to donate unused — but still good — medications to nonprofit organizations such as Project CURE or Doctors Without Borders or to redispense the drugs to needy patients in Colorado.
[SB 10-115] (pdf), co-sponsored by Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, passed unanimously in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing in the House. If approved, the bill would allow a licensed health care facility to redispense or donate unused medications without getting permission from a patient’s family member. The law would allow the unused medications to be given to another patient in the facility or to be donated to a nonprofit serving disaster victims. All donations to a nonprofit, say the lawmakers, are to be reviewed by a licensed pharmacist. However, some drugs could not be redistributed, such as narcotics, medications removed from their original packaging and dispensed in child-resistant “amber” bottles, and medications that need refrigeration.
More 2010 Colorado legislation coverage here.
Inmates coming out of prison and inmates sentenced to community corrections have a hard time paying for their medications until they find work, which may take some time. Could they be included under this bill? For many, their medications have stabilized their behavior, and lack of medications can have bad results.
Janette,
That’s a good question. I don’t know the answer. Here’s the link to the bill:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2010A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/6AC3E9811A79DB3F872576B0007BD218?Open&file=115_ren.pdf
You could contact the sponsor(s) with your question. Who knows they may put it in the bill.
John Orr
Please direct me on this issue:
I work as a deputy coroner and we frequently are given medications after a death. Sometimes we need to take them for accountability and other times the family wants to “get rid of them”. We can also participate in getting these medications to non profit organization. How would I go about adding the Medical Examiners office to the list of “facilities” that can donate.
Maureen,
I don’t have an answer for you. I’d contact Governor Ritter’s office. He signed the bill and they may have issued implementation guidelines.
Sorry.
John Orr