A STUDY ON THE PURSUITS OF PHARMACISTS IN INDIA TO REDUCE MEDICINE WASTE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN

The wastage of medicine has huge implications occurring at different levels of the pharmaceutical supply chain such as distributors, hospitals, healthcare facilities, patients and pharmacies, phasing out economically, socially and environmentally, to which there is an absolute need for medicine waste prevention strategies at each level of the supply chain, which can further help in reducing medicine shortages, revenue losses and environmental contamination. The present study seeks to identify various activities undertaken by pharmacists in India to reduce medicine waste and finding barriers to these activities at the pharmacist level so that these obstructions can be removed further for the proper implementation of waste-reducing activities. The existing literature discussed of several activities which, if performed effectively by pharmacists, can help to reduce medicine waste from the pharmaceutical supply chain. Moreover, this paper helps in identifying, there is no work done to study barriers to these activities in India.Thus,the study attempts to fill this void by exploring various activities undertaken by pharmacists in India to reduce medicine waste and barriers to these activities. This paper only studied the activities of pharmacies, whereas there are many other entities like stockists, distributors, patients, and hospitals in the pharmaceutical supply chain can also contribute effectively in minimizing medicine waste.