First, thank you to all of you who have supported and shared this petition.When I heard the mail order pharmacy say that they ship all medications including children's liquid oral medications that are supposed to be shipped at room temperature in only bubble mailers, I was alarmed. I know now that many children's liquid medications along may be more susceptible to losing potency in the heat. Many children's medications that are used for chronic conditions are not even studied for temperature stability and the few studies that I have found on stability of children's medications for certain chronic illnesses showed temperature sensitivity when exposed to heat that would cause some to lose potency.
Not all medications that are supposed to be stored at room temperature are equal when it comes to how they should be stored. This is true for all medications including adult medications.
Each medication has varying levels of stability sensitivity to temperatures. It is time that the mail order pharmacy, the insurance company, and the delivery trucks start handling our medications to accommodate the uniqueness of each medication. Some mail order pharmacies treat all room temperature medications the same by shipping all room temperature medications in only a bag. If you want to know the truth about temperature storage, contact the manufacturer. They do the testing.
When I asked the pharmacist how they prepared my son's liquid medications, they said they would take the powder out of the capsule and put it into a liquid solution. I'm not a pharmacist, but I wonder if that's the reason why it is even more sensitive to heat.
I have spoken with mothers and adult patients in many states who are also upset about receiving their medications packaged poorly in hot and freezing non temperature controlled UPS FedEx and USPS trucks. One mother particularly comes in mind. She lives in Arizona and is a mother of a toddler with a liver transplant. She has received her medications and 105 degree weather and the bottle was warm to touch. Her only option of coverage is the mail order pharmacy that it isn't even located in her state.
Sometimes as I'm fighting alongside with all of you, I picture those of you who have shared your issues and experiences with me as well as this mother in Arizona. I was in this similar situation when my son's medications were delivered and 102 degrees.
As you share the petition and educate others on this issue, please continue telling your personal story or our experiences. Even if you do not have children yet or have a loved one effected by this, please keep these children in mind and all of the other patients whose lives are negatively impacted by insurance companies only allowing access by insurance companies only allowing coverage to mail order pharmacies and the lack of monitoring medication temperatures.
If we could just pick this medication up at the pharmacy at which it is filled, the risk of instability could be eliminated from the time of filling to the moment the patient or caregiver hold the prescription in their hands.
However, some patients who not be able to drive or for other reasons, may prefer medications to be delivered to them. The best vehicles that I have seen used for transporting medications are the vehicles owned by the independent pharmacies that are air conditioned or maintained room temperature in the winter. The UPS trucks, Fed Ex, and the USPS trucks are not temperature controlled. They are just like your vehicle that sits in the hot and freezing air when parked.
The US does a good job monitoring temperatures when shipping flowers and food. We have been shipping food and flowers to ensure they are received with the best quality for quite some time. It is time to do the same with life-saving medications.
Please feel free to copy and share the picture and petition.
Thank you again for your support,
The Boesing Family