Survey on unclaimed prescriptions in a community pharmacy

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the number of unclaimed prescriptions, document the reasons patients did not claim prescriptions, investigate the effect of telephone contact on the pickup rate, and document the types of medications involved and the frequency of this type of non-compliance.

Design: A total of 549 unclaimed prescriptions were evaluated during a nine-month study. Pharmacy students contacted patients whose prescription orders had been dispensed but not claimed. Patients contacted by telephone were asked why they had not claimed their prescriptions. The types of medications involved were documented, and a follow-up check was made of the patient's profile on the pharmacy computer system to determine whether the telephone contact affected the pickup rate.

Results: Reasons given for not claiming the prescriptions included: transfer to another pharmacy, prescription was forgotten, the patient no longer wanted or needed the prescription because they had medication left over, or patient decided they did not need the medication. Telephone contact had minimal impact on the compliance rate of this patient group. The most common unclaimed medication categories were anti-infectives, cough and cold/allergy medications, and birth control/hormones.

Conclusions: Patients cited many reasons for not picking up their medication. Follow-up telephone calls did not increase the number of prescriptions picked up by patients in this study.