- Prescribe small initial quantities for new prescriptions.
- Do not provide samples of medications to patients, as these often end up in the waste stream (or, alternatively, develop a program to reduce free sample waste).
- Inform consumers about safe disposal methods for unused or expired medications.
- Encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop more effective medication delivery systems, so medications are absorbed more efficiently by the body, and chemical excretion is minimized.
- Develop training programs for health care providers to optimize their prescribing practices.
- Adopt a plan for the centralized procurement and distribution of medications that controls the quantities that patients receive and limits waste.
- Wherever possible, establish contracts that ensure the return of excess pharmaceuticals to the manufacturer.
- Ensure that pharmaceutical waste is treated and disposed of in accordance with national and/or WHO guidelines as appropriate.
- Ensure that pharmaceuticals are only donated on request, and that any donations are in line with WHO policy and the policy of the recipient country.
- Initiate and publicize take-back programs to provide and alternative for patients to disposing of unused medicines down the drain or in municipal waste.
