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The benefits of this project
Benefits for Your Patients
- Improved patient safety through reduced use of empty inhalers which may lead to undertreatment and asthma attacks.
- Enhanced patient education and self-management.
Benefits for Your Practice
- Reduces workload associated with preventable appointments and prescribing,
Benefits for The Planet
- Supports environmentally responsible healthcare practices.
Opportunity for improvement
- Inhalers should not be placed in household waste, as they cannot be recycled by household waste systems. Pressurised metered dose inhalers that are disposed in household waste may end up in landfill where the propellant gases, which are powerful greenhouse gases, will leach into the atmosphere contributing to climate change.
- Used or unwanted inhalers should be returned to the pharmacy. Here they will be recycled or incinerated. Incineration degrades the powerful greenhouse gases, making them less harmful.
- You might like to make a SMART goal for this project, e.g. partner with a local pharmacy to display inhaler recycling posters in the practice and pharmacy waiting areas.
How to carry out this project
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Search for all patients prescribed inhalers
Create a list of all patients with inhalers on repeat prescriptions.
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Send information to patients
Send correct information to patients (to return to pharmacy for recycling or disposal).
You can send patients an information leaflet on returning inhalers to the pharmacy for safe disposal.
PrescQIPP have patient information leaflets, printed labels and banners you can add to websites about this (under patient information materials heading).
Resource: Inhaler disposal
Did you know your inhaler should be disposed of safely by your pharmacy, not put in the bin at home? Return your inhaler to the pharmacy – this protects the environment. For more info on how you should dispose of your used or unwanted inhalers, see https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/inhalers
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Update prescription templates
You could also update prescription templates to give recycling or disposal advice.
Create prescription templates for the common inhalers used locally based on your formulary. In the patient information section of the prescription template include a not advising patients to return all used or unwanted inhalers to their local pharmacy.
Resource: PCIT guide on editing prescription template in System One
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Check if inhaler recycling is offered locally
Currently we are not aware of any national inhaler recycling scheme. A previous GSK complete the cycle scheme and the TEVA terracyle scheme for inhalers have both sadly ended.
There is a newly launched inhaler recycling project in South East London funded by NHS England, for more information on this please click here and there is currently a recycling scheme being piloted in Leicestershire.
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Study
Review the results, summarise learning, share with practice team and decide if any changes are needed to improve the process.
Decide when to re-audit again to ensure the change has lasted e.g. 2-3 months and use the Project Monitoring form to keep track.
Many practices run automatic searches at regular intervals – speak to your practice team about including this project in those searches.
Top tip
Use the patient videos and leaflets available to inform patients using inhalers. You may also wish to display these in your waiting room and at your local pharmacies.
How to scale this project up or down
| Please note - Use of this project requires NetworkPLUS membership. If you would like to share this project with others, please invite them to purchase their own membership—access must not be shared with non-members. |
You could upscale this project by working with your local ICB (England), Health Board (Scotland & Wales) or SPPG Pharmacy Advisor (Northern Ireland) to ensure once daily or alternate day dosing is the default pick in local formularies.
You could take it to your Primary Care Network or Cluster to implement across all practices in your area.
Have you completed this QIP
Tell us a little about your project and enter your data in order to generate a certificate showing the probable cost savings and other benefits. This project may help with CQC evidence submission (see disclaimers).
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