title: Many sample closet medications are expired.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  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%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many sample closet medications are expired, indicating a substantial amount of waste.
authors.forename: Kari L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D001130:Arizona; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004348:Drug Labeling; D004355:Drug Stability; D004356:Drug Storage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care