Hi Everyone,
Temperatures are just one of the many issues with forced mail-order pharmacy as most medications are stored in only bags. Do you ever wonder how hot the UPS, Fed Ex, USPS Trucks Reach?
We're going to find out, and you can support or be part of our research that will be posted publicly by accepting a package with a temperature monitoring device or by making a contribution to help us buy tracking sensors.
In 1998, at the beginning of the mail-order pharmacy expansion, Managed Care Magazine referenced a study by the United States Postal Service (USPS) showed that the back of the trucks reaches temperatures of up to 170 degrees.
"the U.S. Postal Service determined that drugs in a mailbox can get as hot as pizza warming in an oven. The study showed that only 8.4 percent of the packages experienced temperature variations allowable under the Postal Service's definition of controlled room temperature. Sixty-five percent of the packages were exposed to temperatures between 84 and 104 degrees. About a quarter were exposed to "excessive heat"--above 104 degrees. In addition, calculations showed that almost a third of the packages were exposed to mean kinetic temperatures above 170 degrees..."
"In one instance, a woman received frozen insulin of dubious efficacy. Still other anecdotes concern medications left on doorsteps and downed by children, with dire consequences."
The response from the association for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) such as CVS Caremark Optum RX and Express Scripts, known as Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), tried to reduce the concerns by saying, "Where are you getting these stories?" "They don't get any hotter than if you walked out of the pharmacy and put them on the dashboard of your car."
In the last year, some have reported receiving medications that were medications ineffective, reduced efficacy, capsules melted, and insulins arrived frozen. Children have retrieved packages left on doorsteps and pets have ingested medications.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention states, "When temperatures outside range from 80 degrees to 100 degrees, the temperature inside a car parked in direct sunlight can quickly climb to between 130 to 172.”
At a recent meeting with my local State Board of Pharmacy, they stated they recalled discussing these issues 20 years ago. Sadly, we know nothing was ever done to protect patients and our medications from unsafe conditions as Americans are now being forced to use this service and take this risk. Most are not warned about the safety of taking medications that have been exposed to extreme heat and the mail-order pharmacy will often tell the patient to continue taking the medications although the testing to prove that our medications are safe in temperature extremes for unlimited amounts of time is often nonexistent.
We need safe options to access our medications in our coverage. Mail-order could be an option, but the risk should be transparent and all patients should be able to have the option in their coverage to receive their medications the safest way, from the hands of their trusted pharmacists.
If you are willing to accept a package and take a photo or video of the opening of the package, please email me the address to loretta@uniteforsafemedications.com. We will black out your name and address on any photos or videos that we receive.
The number of sensors that we will send out will depend on the number of sensors we are able to buy. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to help us order the devices, you can do so by clicking here.
We appreciate every supporter. Thank you for your support!
Loretta Boesing
Founder of Unite for Safe Medications
Facebook Page: Issues with Mail Order Pharmacy