Last week, The Benefits Trust participated in a Twitter chat on healthcare fraud – #fraudchat – hosted by the Canadian Health Care Anti-fraud Association. Founded in 2000, the CHCAA aims to protect Canadians and Canadian healthcare by eliminating health care fraud, waste, and abuse.
In addition to the variety of thought-provoking issues that arose during the chat, one topic of note was a discussion of strategies for reducing the risks associated with leftover medications. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) has announced a new public safety initiative for May 11th 2013: Ontario Prescription Drug Drop Off Day.
Ontario Prescription Drug Drop Off Day
What do you do with old and unused prescription drugs? Maybe they sit in your cabinet for years, maybe you throw them out, or maybe you’re not even sure what happened to them.
Purchasing or selling a prescribed medicine to another person is illegal. The Controlled Drug and Substances Act forbids anyone from possessing any prescribed medication without a prescription. The misuse of prescription medication is when someone uses prescription drugs for non-medical purposes.
Unfortunately, according to a press release by the OACP, many youths misuse prescription drugs. In a 2011 survey, 24 of 100 youths claimed to have used prescription drugs without a prescription within the previous year, 17 of which obtained the drugs from their families’ homes.
By properly disposing of unused or outdated prescription drugs, we can prevent them from being used illegally and unsafely.
On May 11th, Ontario residents are urged to drop off all unwanted prescription medication at any of the collection locations that will be set up across the province. The participating municipal police locations will be accepting the medications from 10:00am to 3:00pm, after which the drugs will be disposed of in a secure and eco-friendly way. The prescription drugs can be dropped off anonymously, and participants will not even need to get out of their vehicles in many locations.
“Police in communities across Ontario recognize prescription drug abuse can lead to increases in a wide spectrum of violent acts and property crimes. We support this excellent initiative as another way to reduce this threat to public safety in a secure manner.” – Chief Steve Tanner, Halton Regional Police Service and President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police
>> The Benefits Trust is committed to raising awareness about healthcare fraud, to ensure our clients get the most out of their healthcare plans. For information about healthcare spending accounts and benefits plans, contact us.
Image source: http://www.niagararegion.ca
