DISPOSAL OF MEDICINAL WASTE AND IDENTIFICATION OF LIKELY ENVIRONMENTAL DESTINATIONS: Evaluation carried out in a Basic Health Unit of a Small-Scale Municipality of the Center-West of Minas Gerais

Abstract

One of the causes of increased production of solid waste from health services is linked to the irrational use of drugs. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the drug use profile, in a small municipality, located in the Midwest of Minas Gerais, its ways of disposing of drug waste, with a view to identifying likely routes of impacts and environmental destinations, as well as characterizing pharmaceutical waste found at a collection point of a Basic Health Unit (UBS). Thus, from February to July 2018, data were collected on the medication of 173 poly-drug patients, such as: name of the drug, concentration, dosage and frequency of use. The method of discarding the drugs when they are past due or no longer used has also been evaluated. In addition, the routes of environmental aspects of pharmaceutical residues, as well as the characterization of the medicinal residues of one of the UBS of the municipality, were schematized in flowcharts. The following results are worth noting: the main form of drug disposal is household waste (32%), but accumulating them at home is still the most common practice (35%); the form of collection and storage of the drugs discarded in UBS does not comply with ANVISA norms 222/2018 and ABNT 16457: 2016 and it has also been confirmed that drugs belonging to the most consumed classes (nervous and cardiovascular systems) are also the most discarded. Finally, the most appropriate intervention strategy on the problem of the disposal of medicines is Reverse Logistics and this should be encouraged as well as the energetic use of waste.