Nudging Medicine Users to Proper Handling the Unused Medicines: The Case of Slovak Republic

This article focuses on the application of behavioural economics and its nudge theory in unused medicine disposal. Although regulated by law, some users ignore these regulations, which brings social losses, resulting in increased consumption, excessive accumulation and negative externalities due to environmental contamination. The research examines the impact of nudging by additional information on the return of unused medicines to the pharmacy in the Slovak Republic. Based on the empirical analysis, this article concludes that nudging had a positive impact on users’ behaviour. Respondents who were provided with additional information on drug handling showed a 10% increase in the claimed return on unused and expired medicine compared to the control group, which was not nudged. The outcomes show that nudging by additional information can be a supporting instrument how to increase the efficient handling of unused medicines.