[Returned medicines as quality indicator for pharmacotherapy--what is left?].

Unused medication accumulating in the homes of patients represents a medical, professional, financial and ecological challenge. Drugs returned to pharmacies show what kinds of medication are not being used. In our survey. 14 pharmacies registered all the medication returned during a three-month period. A total of 641 persons handed in 4,860 containers of medication during this period. A third of the containers were unopened and another third had more than half the contents left. The returned drugs were valued at approx. 450,000 NOK. Drugs used in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases constituted the largest part of the medication returned, both with respect to value and to volume. Drugs returned to pharmacies give an indication of the efficacy of pharmacotherapy. The results should prove suitable for reflection in multi-professional quality groups.