Fiebelkorn discusses complexity of mail order medications

Recently, a news station told the story of a woman without her medications from a mail order pharmacy. Besides the congestion of delivery services due to Covid-19 there is the issue of maintaining controlled temperature. Western New York has temperatures from extreme cold (-4) to very hot (98). Patients with metal mail boxes are very susceptible to medications spoiling at temperatures outside of recommended storage conditions.

Having been a registered pharmacist for more than 40 years I have seen patients contact their community pharmacist for help because:

1. Their medicine was not delivered.
2. Their insulin/liquid prescriptions were frozen.
3. The package was warm.
4. The medication was stolen from the front of their house.
5. Their questions go unanswered from the mail service.

It is vital that medications, whether liquid or solid, be kept at the temperature approved by the Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer. Just because it is in tablet form does not mean it is stable outside of the temperature range indicated for that product.

Pharmacy graduates now earn doctorate degrees. These PharmDs are clinically trained to discuss with the patients their medications, be there in-person to address any issues or problems, and confer with the patient’s prescriber the best medication for the best outcome, both clinically and financially.

Karl Fiebelkorn
Senior Associate Dean
UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences