Woman with heart condition implores residents to check expiration dates on medication before leaving MBS pharmacies

Woman with heart condition implores residents to check
expiration dates on medication before leaving MBS pharmacies
A woman who says she lives with a serious heart condition is
exhorting patrons of the Medical Benefits Scheme pharmacies to
check their medication before they leave the premises.

On Tuesday, July 18, the distressed woman told REAL News that, out
of the five prescriptions collected on her behalf, three had passed

their expiration dates. It was her relative’s vigilance, she says, that
allowed him to catch the mistake before he left the pharmacy.

The woman says she does not subscribe to the “best by” principle,
which holds that a product is not necessarily harmful – only less
potent – after a certain date. Rather, she believes that medication
reaching their expiration date should be pulled altogether from
stock.

She says that, earlier this year, the pharmacy dispensed the same
medication and it carried an expiry date of 2024. Hence, she cannot
understand why, in July, she received drugs that had expired already
in February 2023.

She acknowledges that, when it was brought to the attention of the
pharmacist, her relative received a profuse apology and the meds
were replaced. But, given her health condition, she says, she is
taking no chances, and would prefer to purchase drugs that are
current than accept those that are not.

As her civic duty, she says, she believes it is important to alert other
beneficiaries to note the date on their medication before accepting
it.

REAL News notes, however, that medications are often dispensed
out of their original containers. In such instances, therefore, the
patient would not know whether they are expired or fresh.