PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Evans, Kari L.
AU  - Brown, Steven R.
TI  - Many Sample Closet Medications Are Expired
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2012.03.110250
DP  - 2012 May 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 394--395
VI  - 25
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/25/3/394.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/25/3/394.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2012 May 01; 25
AB  - Introduction: Samples are widely used in office practice. It is not known how many sample medications are expired and therefore not useful to patients. Methods: We inventoried 10 sample closets in primary care offices to quantify the number of expired medications. Results: Of the 12,581 drug packages and boxes we inventoried in 10 sample closets, 14% of medications were expired. Sample closets varied widely in their organization; the range of expired medications in the 10 closets was 0% to 28%. Conclusion: Many sample closet medications are expired, indicating a substantial amount of waste.