As a nurse practitioner and House chair of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, I am delighted to hear about the early success of the Safe Medicine Disposal for ME pilot program. This program is a catalyst for safer disposal practices and greater public awareness. The program will help to identify and quantify issues of household prescription drug use and disposal that we have been looking at on the state level.

The federal government has recently recognized the tremendous success of Maine’s pilot return program in the short period of time that it has been in place. The pilot program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and was initially aimed at keeping medication out of rivers, streams and groundwater. The program, however, has proved to have benefits beyond environmental impact.

I have had the privilege of working with Stevan Gressitt and the Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group, to provide appropriate state support for this program.

In 2007, Dr. Gressitt gave a presentation at an international symposium in Greece identifying six key issues that need immediate, worldwide attention. These six key issues include: 1) childhood poisoning; 2) misuse and abuse of medications; 3) accumulation of unneeded medications; 4) unintended environmental exposure; 5) inappropriate drug donations; and 6) wasted health care dollars. These issues were recognized as items that should be addressed by governments, nongovernmental agencies and individuals worldwide. The Maine prescription drug mail-back program addresses each of these issues, and each ultimately represents a cost-savings.

Just getting bottles of unused pills out of the house will reduce the risk of a child accidentally ingesting discarded medication. In addition, removing bottles of unused pills in the medicine cabinet can prevent confusion when taking medication, therefore, reducing the risk (and cost) of taking the wrong medications.

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency is a partner in this program due to the prevalence of abuse of prescription drugs and the ability to handle the proper disposal of these drugs. Reports have shown that prescription painkillers and antidepressants stolen from family members are being ingested or sold by substance abusers. They are often available because a family member has started to feel better and has stopped taking the medication.

Whatever the reasons for a person not taking all of the pills prescribed for them, determining how many are not being used will help us to save health care dollars. Every pill received back through this program represents the possibility of future cost-savings. Someone – whether it is an individual, an insurance company or a state-funded program – has paid for each of these medications. Information about unused prescriptions will provide a background for addressing wasted dollars in the health care system.

I look forward to what the Safe Medicine Disposal for ME program can tell us as we work to improve health care in Maine.

For more information about the Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group, visit www.mainebenzo.org.

Anne Perry, D-Calais, represents District 31 in the Maine House of Representatives.