New Medication Disposal Kiosks in New Mexico Make Disposing of Unwanted Medications More Convenient and Accessible
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM), is joining Walgreens to expand the availability of year-round safe medication disposal in New Mexico with safe medication disposal kiosks in select Walgreens locations throughout the state.
The expansion is part of an effort announced last year by leading health care organizations to combat the national opioid abuse crisis by increasing the availability of safe medication disposal kiosks to an additional 900 Walgreens drugstores around the country. When the expansion is complete, kiosks will be available in approximately 1,500 Walgreens stores nationwide.
In addition, safe medication disposal kiosks located throughout New Mexico are being co-branded with BCBSNM and Walgreens logos to further illustrate the collaboration among the organizations.
“We believe that it is important for us to help with and contribute to this effort to increase the number of kiosks in Walgreens locations throughout New Mexico,” said Dr. Eugene Sun, vice president and chief medical officer at BCBSNM. “The opioid epidemic affects our communities and fellow New Mexicans, and we are pleased to help provide more access for people to dispose of medication safely and conveniently.”
“We are proud to work with organizations throughout the health care community to make it even easier for people to dispose of their unwanted medications,” said Rick Gates, senior vice president of pharmacy operations, Walgreens. “The expansion of the program throughout New Mexico is a great example of health care organizations coming together in collaboration to address a real health crisis facing the country.”
Safe medication disposal kiosks allow individuals to safely and conveniently dispose of their unwanted, unused or expired prescriptions, including controlled substances, and over-the-counter medications, at no cost. The kiosks at Walgreens pharmacies are available during regular pharmacy hours and offer one of the best ways to ensure medications are not accidentally used or intentionally misused by someone else.
Safe medication disposal kiosks have collected more than 270 tons of unwanted medications since the program started in 2016. This an additional 115 tons since the company announced its partnership last fall with leading health care organizations to expand the availability of safe medication disposal kiosks, collections have reached nearly 40% of the organizations’ goal to collect an additional 300 tons of unwanted medication in two years.
For a full list of Walgreens drug takeback kiosk locations, visit the Walgreens Store Locator.