In 2019, MedShorts, a virtual marketplace for surplus pharmaceuticals with shorter expiration dates, partnered with The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center to pilot its new business model, connecting hospital pharmacies and drug manufacturers with surplus medicines set to expire within one year.
By leveraging the medical center’s data on medication usage, the medical center reduced its costs for these medications, while reducing the environmental impact by preventing expired pharmaceuticals from entering the waste stream. In fiscal year 2019 alone, the medical center’s collaboration with MedShorts helped to eliminate 50,000 products and packages from the waste stream, and the medical center realized $284,000 in cost savings.
In addition to personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic, less publicized but equally critical national drug shortages occurred. The medical center continued to work with MedShorts, and in fiscal year 2020, increased its volume of medications purchased to 55,000 products and packages, while also resulting in $145,801 in savings, and again, reducing the environmental impact from using the medications, as opposed to allowing them to expire and be incinerated.
Contact: Steven Loborec, PharmD, MS, MPH, BCPS, assistant director in the Department of Pharmacy at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center