Another hero reporter, Zaneta Lowe from WREG TV in Memphis TN reported the issues with delays, temperatures, and forced mail order pharmacy.
Many of you have been following this petition for over a year prior to the pandemic. Mail order medication delays are not a new issue but the delays have increased due to the pandemic, increased online shopping, and changes in postal delivery. Over 2 years later, we are here and will continue to fight for change and justice. The quote below is directly from the article from the television news report.
Luttrell says while her prescription is time and temperature-sensitive, she didn’t sense urgency on the other end of the phone. “When you’re talking to an online, mail order specialty pharmacy, you’re stuck, you’re absolutely stuck, and you feel as if you don’t have control over your own health because you’re operating on someone else’s timeline.”
Luttrell shared her experience on social media and quickly learned she’s far from alone.
“I had no idea until I posted on Twitter how many people have had the same problem with mail order pharmacies,” she said.
Since tweeting, Luttrell said, “I have had several people reach out, who have had similar situations. I’ve heard stories about people not getting their cancer drugs on time.”
Loretta Boesing runs Unite for Safe Medications.
“This pandemic really created the perfect storm when it came to medications not being delivered on time and even greater numbers,” said Boesing.
Boesing advocates for issues ranging from temperature control to timely deliveries of mail order medications. All of which she says are long standing problems, the pandemic simply brought into focus.
“People are upset, you know, because they’re not getting their packages and they ordered from Amazon on time or they’re you know, they’re upset about things that aren’t arriving. But when it comes to medications, that’s somebody’s life,” exclaimed Boesing.
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With medicine more than a week and a half late a veteran said, “I had to endure withdrawals because of this mistake. It was very dangerous to my health and very uncomfortable.”
In many cases, VA pharmacists blamed COVID-19 and severe mailing delays with the postal service.
“This is just not okay. We cannot turn our backs on this issue,” Boesing said.
Please continue sharing your stories and speaking to your representatives. Continue fighting for safe access to our local pharmacies and for the survival of our local pharmacies.
Patients' lives depend on the choice of pharmacy and safe access to medications.
Thank you for your support,
Loretta Boesing