Many sample closet medications are expired

Abstract

Introduction: Samples are widely used in office practice. It is not known how many sample medications are expired and therefore not useful to patients. Methods: We inventoried 10 sample closets in primary care offices to quantify the number of expired medications. Results: Of the 12,581 drug packages and boxes we inventoried in 10 sample closets, 14% of medications were expired. Sample closets varied widely in their organization; the range of expired medications in the 10 closets was 0% to 28%. Conclusion: Many sample closet medications are expired, indicating a substantial amount of waste.