Medications in Single-Dose Vials and Implications of Discarded Injectable Drugs: A National Academies Report

Every year, significant amounts of expensive injectable or infused drugs, distributed in single-dose vials, are discarded in the United States. This is due in part to the increasing number of drugs that are administered in variable doses based on a patient's weight or body surface area. Sharing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2021-04, Vol.325 (15), p.1507-1508
Main Authors: Shortliffe, Edward H, Lyman, Gary H, Amankwah, Francis K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S
Dosage
Drug Costs
Drug dosages
Drug Packaging - methods
Drugs
Government programs
Government Regulation
Humans
Injections
Legislation, Drug
Pharmaceutical Preparations - administration & dosage
Pharmaceutical Preparations - economics
Reimbursement Mechanisms
United States
United States Food and Drug Administration
Weight
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Description
Summary:Every year, significant amounts of expensive injectable or infused drugs, distributed in single-dose vials, are discarded in the United States. This is due in part to the increasing number of drugs that are administered in variable doses based on a patient's weight or body surface area. Sharing medication from single-dose vials among patients is generally prohibited or severely restricted; accordingly, the unused drug amount will typically be discarded. Many of the weight-based drugs in single-dose vials are expensive and are paid for by federal health care programs (particularly Medicare Part B), private health plans, and patients who have cost-sharing obligations.
ISSN:0098-7484
1538-3598
DOI:10.1001/jama.2021.2414