Medication non-adherence as a driver of pharmaceutical waste: integrating
top-down policies with bottom-up practice
#MMPMID41346750
Kardas P
; Agh T
Front Public Health
2025[]; 13
(?): 1714049
PMID41346750
show ga
Medication non-adherence is a widespread challenge affecting up to half of
patients with chronic conditions, with profound implications for health outcomes,
healthcare costs, and, increasingly recognized, environmental sustainability.
Unused and improperly disposed medications contribute to pharmaceutical waste,
overproduction, and pollution, amplifying the healthcare sector's carbon
footprint. This viewpoint highlights the need for coordinated action across
clinical practice and health policy to mitigate this underappreciated dimension
of environmental harm. We argue that addressing non-adherence is not solely a
clinical imperative but also an ecological one, requiring dual responsibility:
bottom-up engagement by healthcare professionals and patients, and top-down
strategies embedded in policy and system-level reforms. Drawing on evidence from
adherence interventions and sustainable prescribing initiatives, we outline
actionable steps-from individualized medication optimization and deprescribing to
public health campaigns and regulatory frameworks-to align adherence management
with environmental goals. Tackling this problem offers a unique opportunity to
improve patient outcomes while advancing climate-conscious healthcare and
reducing overall healthcare-related costs. We call on clinicians, health systems,
and policymakers to integrate adherence promotion into sustainability agendas and
to view every prescription as both a therapeutic and environmental decision.
Likewise, we urge optimization of environmentally safe and effective disposal
systems for unused and expired drugs, ensuring that such measures become an
integral part of comprehensive strategies to protect both human health and the
planet.
free
free
free
