Change.org Petition Update (JUL 23, 2022) — First, thank you to our supporters. There are many days when we don't know how we could do this without you!
Next month, I will speak at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy about the temperatures and mail order pharmacy issues. The FDA and Stare Boards of Pharmacy do not regulate the temperatures of mail order pharmacies. Patients are not warned.
At the meeting, I’ll be for the first time meeting in person with the makers of the documentary “Would You Like Shots With That” and Dan Schneider, from the Netflix documentary series “The Pharmacist.” I highly support both of their missions.
We need your help. If you can send pictures of how your medications arrive at your home, it would be greatly appreciated. Of course, send any other issues with mail order pharmacy that you’ve encountered.
For the presentation:
- I’ll start my presentation with my UPS driver stating that he was so hot that he couldn’t breathe when he opened the back of his truck. UPS drivers are petitioning to get the back of the truck air-conditioned as this is where the temperatures are risking drivers' lives. UPS drivers this week posted pictures of their trucks reaching 161° F. Most medications are stored in only bags.
I’ll share the recordings of the specialty pharmacist telling me that
they ship all room temperature medications in only bags, including the liquid oral organ transplant medications like the meds that my son was on when they shipped in only a bag on a 102-degree day.
mail order pharmacist stated that they are just going by guidelines that aren’t completely set.
mail order pharmacists state that “I’m not the only one.” They “hear a lot of it.
- Share that the FDA also stated that they get calls like mine in the middle of every summer and every winter, but the FDA doesn’t regulate mail order pharmacy and suggested that I contact the State Boards of Pharmacy.
-After filing a complaint with the Department of Insurance, the complaint would land at the US Department of Labor as the plan was employer-sponsored. The US Department of Labor states that this is an issue that they also hear frequently. “It may be unfair. It may be unethical, but it’s not illegal.”
-My State Board of Pharmacy failed and continues to fail to hold mail order pharmacies accountable for the unsafe shipping of medications. Although, my State Board does have an ignored rule that medications must be stored within the manufacturer's guidelines or USP Pharmacopeia’s.
The manufacturer told me to discard my son’s medications, and UPS Pharmacopeias guidelines state that the excursion information written on the label that states medications shouldn’t be stored in temperatures over 86° F also applies to shipping per USP General Chapter 659.
- State Boards fail to correctly address this issue due to many board members having close affiliation to the PBMs such as Optum RX, CVS Caremark, and Express Scripts. This is also a main funding source for the Board.
This is why I need your help. Please.
Reach out to the media to let them know that this issue will be discussed at the Board Meeting on August the 30th in Oklahoma City. Sadly, the Board may not do the right thing without the public eye on them.
Share your own stories with the media in your state. If you see stories airing about these issues, please send them to me.
Share your stories and photos with me loretta@uniteforsafemedications.com
We are also taking donations to support our advocacy to improve the safety of pharmaceutical care.
Thank you for your help,
Loretta Boesing
Founder, Unite for Safe Medications