Hi Everyone,
"State boards of pharmacy are supposed to be responsible for how drugs are handled within any given state. We have not seen evidence, though, that boards of pharmacy enforce delivery standards to pharmacies or to the homes of patients. (Graedon, 2018)."
How could we ever be forced to use mail order pharmacy which is so loosely regulated that it has many risks?
I recently communicated with an independent pharmacy owner who was impacted by the hurricane. The electric was interrupted. Temperatures were not maintained, and he was told that all of his stock must be thrown out/discarded.
State Boards of Pharmacy are responsible for inspecting pharmacies. If the temperature is even a few degrees off at the brick and mortar stores, the State Board of Pharmacy will tell the pharmacy to DISCARD ALL of their stock and the pharmacy could be heavily fined.
Why the double standard? I will never understand. Sometimes medications are left inside non-temperature controlled trucks for several days, even weeks in temperature ranges up to 170 degrees to below zero temperatures during transport to the patient's home. The FDA would never allow this for medications being shipped from the manufacturer to the pharmacy. Yet, the FDA doesn't regulate the medications shipped to our homes. The State Board of Pharmacy does and they seem careless when it comes to this issue. Especially when it comes to room temperature medications that are most often only shipped in a bag or bubble mailer all year round.
When I searched for the answer as to why? I found that some of the regulators that sit on the State Board of Pharmacy are from the companies that highly profit from mail order pharmacy (Express Scripts & CVS) or some from chain pharmacies (like Walgreens). They too may benefit from mail order pharmacy.
I wish the State Boards of Pharmacy would listen to the patients. First of all forced mail order pharmacy should be urgently stopped. FYI. They don't like the word forced because poor chronically ill, and our elderly could always pay 100% out of pocket to get their medications at their local pharmacy. I argue if mail order pharmacy is the only option or cheaper option of getting medications, many due to income will be forced to take the risk.
We must fix this! Thank you Dawn for sharing this article with me. If anyone ever sees articles like this, please share them with me! We must spread the news. Mail order pharmacy carries many unnecessary risks and is VERY loosely regulated!
Picking up the medications from the pharmacist who has known us for years, and having the equal coverage of keeping this face to face relationship is crucial to patient care.
Thank you for your support!
If interested in sharing your story with legislatures in your state, please
email: stopmandatorymailorder@yahoo.com
twitter: @BoesingLoretta
Facebook: Issues with Mail Order Pharmacy Page @justamomwholovesherson
Full link to the article https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2018/12/03/how-safe-are-mail-order-medicines-if-not-temperature-controlled/?fbclid=IwAR0Y8iywhKPso7MNPpjbAAWGTrs1SsRe-gWtM5bkA8obYXQErU0mPCu-zso
Graedon, Joe. “How Safe Are Mail-Order Medicines If Not Temperature Controlled?” The People's Pharmacy, 4 Dec. 2018, www.peoplespharmacy.com/2018/12/03/how-safe-are-mail-order-medicines-if-not-temperature-controlled/?fbclid=IwAR0Y8iywhKPso7MNPpjbAAWGTrs1SsRe-gWtM5bkA8obYXQErU0mPCu-zso