Irvine hospital prescribes safe disposal of opioid medications

IRVINE, Calif.

At $1.10 apiece, they might seem like a trivial investment in the crucial fight against opioid abuse.

But given what that money buys — a medication disposal kit that can keep potentially dangerous drugs away from people who might misuse them — the spending is anything but trivial.

It’s why Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine soon will begin sending medication disposal kits home with patients who are discharged but still have the need for pain drugs.