How many long before our State Boards of Pharmacy and our legislators act to save patients and protect us from this forceful risking to lives as they know that our medications are mostly stored in bags in trucks and mailboxes as many are forced to the insurance-owned mail order pharmacy? There are many issues when patients are forced to mail order pharmacy.
This week, I received word from a hero pharmacist at a large chain pharmacy informing me that medications were being shipped from a central fill location to large pharmacies in unprotected USPS trucks. Recall in the last week, a USPS worker died from the high heat of these trucks.
If anything, this should be alarming. They are knowingly shipping medications that they know could already be adulterated and forcing patients to their own mail order pharmacies. Beyond the risk of losing potency, expiration dates are also shortened when medications are exposed to high temperatures of 120-170 degrees.
I filed a complaint with the FDA about this, as the FDA should be regulating wholesalers and drug manufacturers that ship to CVS, but only time will tell if the FDA cares enough for patients to take this complaint seriously.
I have confirmed with many experts in the field that the entire supply chain is broken regarding the safe temperature storage of medications. Still, some of the greatest risks are in the last mile as meds are not shipped as fast as a Prime delivery of socks, and meds are left in scorching hot mailboxes or on porches in the direct sunlight in only bags.
May I remind the State Board members, the FDA, and these large mail order pharmacies that have merged with insurance companies and force patients to their own mail order that it is 2023? There is NO EXCUSE for medications to be shipped unsafely throughout the supply chain on this day and time.
We need people in regulatory positions on the Boards and FDA that will fight for patients' safety instead of fighting to protect the billion-dollar profits of these large corporations that receive medications unsafely and then demand that patients risk their lives again by shipping adulterated medications in only bags and leaving them in hot trucks and mailboxes.
Missouri, Texas, and Arizona will discuss this topic at the Boards of Pharmacy Meetings.
Texas has opened public comment on its proposed regulatory change until July 24th. The next Board Meeting when this issue may be discussed is on 8/1/2023. I'll be watching for the agenda.
For Texas, written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted to Eamon D. Briggs, Deputy General Counsel, Texas State Board of Pharmacy, 1801 Congress Avenue, Suite 13.100, Austin, Texas 78701-1319, FAX (512) 305-8061. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m., July 24, 2023. If you don't have a fax but want to send a comment, you may send your comment to me at loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com, and I'll fax it for you. Just write why proper temperature regulations of all medications is important to you.
Please continue supporting us and sharing the petition.
Loretta Boesing, Patient Advocate
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