And the Winner Is...

Earlier this year the White House created a contest for federal employees that was focused on producing real ideas that would yield monetary savings. They announced the winner, Nancy Fichtner, on saturday.

Nancy proposed that that veterans leaving VA hospitals should be able to take the medicine they’ve been using home with them instead of it being thrown away when they’re discharged. OMB posted these details on her idea:

As is the case in most hospitals all across the country, medicine that is used in the hospital is not given to patients to be brought home; instead, it is thrown out. “Currently the inpatient medications such as ointments, inhalers, eye drops, and other bulk items are being disposed of upon patient discharge.” Nancy proposes ending this waste and finding a way to allow this medicine to be used by those who need it.