DisposeRx launches education, engagement program to combat opioid crisis

DisposeRx, a product leader in at-home medication disposal solutions, has created a new education and engagement program to help health insurance providers continue to play a leadership role in combating the nation’s opioid crisis due to growing concerns around medication misuse, addiction and overdoses,

“Member safety is of utmost concern to health plans and as such many have invested heavily in prevention, wellness and member engagement programs,” said DisposeRx president William Simpson. “Building on the success of our medication disposal programs with a number of health insurance providers over the past two years, our new comprehensive offering can be customized by plans to meet their specific program needs and objectives.”

The new offering includes the following programs:

• Member Engagement—Health plans distribute DisposeRx packets via mail to members annually or to members receiving a certain class of drugs (includes Safe Medication Management messaging and education).
• Clinical Engagement—Health plans make packets and education materials available to members via physician practices, providers and case/care managers.
• Community Engagement—Health plans support local community events by promoting prompt and proper medication disposal through donations of packets, such as around DEA Take Back Days.
• Pharmacy Health Plan Collaboration—The retail pharmacy and health plan collaborate to provide packets to members at the pharmacy counter and share in the costs.

“There are dire consequences of unused medications in the home, and now with the pandemic, health insurance providers are more concerned than ever that these medications could be diverted or abused—leading to emergency room visits, hospitalizations or even death,” Simpson said. “We look forward to further collaborating with health plans to provide medication disposal tools and education to their members.”

DisposeRx at-home medication disposal packets are comprised of materials that are FDA-approved for oral medications and provide a simple, convenient and effective solution for the disposal of unused or expired medications. The active ingredient in the medication is chemically and physically sequestered in a polymer gel when water and the DisposeRx powder are added to a prescription vial and shaken. Patients can use the patented product with pills, tablets, capsules, liquids and powders and can then throw away the vial in the household trash.