6 ms·

Just an FYI. I measured the inside temp of my mailbox in August’s once and it was 150 degrees. You want to be careful getting medications in the mail.

jonknee 8y ago
How do you think the medications get to your local pharmacy?
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  Via climate controlled aircraft, distribution facilities, and relatively well ventilated delivery trucks? No step in the retail pharmacy supply chain involves routinely putting it in a small black box sitting out in the sun until you get home from work in the evening.
  - notyourwork 8y ago
    Perhaps in long term Amazon drones with climate controlled container could drop the medicine off.
    - jonknee 8y ago
      Or they can just deliver it like they do now without issue.
  - Merad 8y ago
    I’d be utterly shocked if you’re correct. Controlled substances most likely do get some kind of kind of courier delivery, but there’s no reason to do it for anything else. If it needs to stay cold you slap in an insulated box with ice packs. I’ve gotten deliveries before from Blue Apron and Omaha Steaks. Believe me, they have no problem keeping things cold.
    - ceejayoz 8y ago
      You seem to think I'm describing some special courier service. I'm not. I'm describing the standard USPS/UPS/FedEx experience all packages get, which is indeed how most of the stuff a retail pharmacy gets will be shipped. The parent's concern with direct-to-home delivery is valid - the inside of an in-sun mailbox on a 90 degree day is going to well exceed safe thresholds for many medications in a way the rest of the shipping chain won't.
      - Merad 8y ago
        I can't speak for the others, but UPS definitely doesn't use climate controlled facilities or well ventilated trucks. In particular the semi trailers that transport packages between facilities are saunas in the summer and ice boxes in the winter after hours on the road.
grork 8y ago
This already a regular thing - see Medco/expressscripts who will mail you items. Additionally Pill pack address this on their website for temp. Controlled teams being shipped in a temp controlled way door to door (see Omaha steaks as an example of ‘it’ll be fine)
- jcadam 8y ago
  My employer recently changed up their prescription drug plan and now we're required to get any and all regular 'maintenance drugs' via expressscripts (we're also now limited to using Walgreens for acute/temp medications - apparently dictating which pharmacies you can use is becoming a thing with medical insurance). ExpressScripts is absolutely terrible. What once was a simple problem: Get a Rx from your doctor, go to any pharmacy and get it filled, has now become a painful process of: - Call doctor's office, ask them to send the Rx to express scripts. - Call express scripts, verify they have the Rx. - Two days before you run out of medication, you get an automated call from Express scripts telling you to call them back. - Call Express Scripts, wait on hold for 30 minutes. - Someone finally tells you that there's a problem with the Rx, and you need to call your doctor and have him re-send the Rx specifiying dosages, etc. in a a very specific way. This is Friday afternoon, of course, and your Doctor's office is already closed. - When you explain you're going to a miss a dose of a medication that is dangerous to stop suddenly, they absolutely do not care ("You'll have it in 5-7 days, once we receive all the info we need", click). It isn't just me. I overhear a lot of angry phone calls between employees and express scripts in the cube farm at work now. Employees are wasting work-time dealing with something that used to be simple - getting their prescriptions filled. Hope the shareholders are happy.

jonknee 8y ago

How do you think the medications get to your local pharmacy?

ceejayoz 8y ago
Via climate controlled aircraft, distribution facilities, and relatively well ventilated delivery trucks? No step in the retail pharmacy supply chain involves routinely putting it in a small black box sitting out in the sun until you get home from work in the evening.
- notyourwork 8y ago
  Perhaps in long term Amazon drones with climate controlled container could drop the medicine off.
  - jonknee 8y ago
    Or they can just deliver it like they do now without issue.
- Merad 8y ago
  I’d be utterly shocked if you’re correct. Controlled substances most likely do get some kind of kind of courier delivery, but there’s no reason to do it for anything else. If it needs to stay cold you slap in an insulated box with ice packs. I’ve gotten deliveries before from Blue Apron and Omaha Steaks. Believe me, they have no problem keeping things cold.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    You seem to think I'm describing some special courier service. I'm not. I'm describing the standard USPS/UPS/FedEx experience all packages get, which is indeed how most of the stuff a retail pharmacy gets will be shipped. The parent's concern with direct-to-home delivery is valid - the inside of an in-sun mailbox on a 90 degree day is going to well exceed safe thresholds for many medications in a way the rest of the shipping chain won't.
    - Merad 8y ago
      I can't speak for the others, but UPS definitely doesn't use climate controlled facilities or well ventilated trucks. In particular the semi trailers that transport packages between facilities are saunas in the summer and ice boxes in the winter after hours on the road.

grork 8y ago

This already a regular thing - see Medco/expressscripts who will mail you items. Additionally Pill pack address this on their website for temp. Controlled teams being shipped in a temp controlled way door to door (see Omaha steaks as an example of ‘it’ll be fine)

jcadam 8y ago
My employer recently changed up their prescription drug plan and now we're required to get any and all regular 'maintenance drugs' via expressscripts (we're also now limited to using Walgreens for acute/temp medications - apparently dictating which pharmacies you can use is becoming a thing with medical insurance). ExpressScripts is absolutely terrible. What once was a simple problem: Get a Rx from your doctor, go to any pharmacy and get it filled, has now become a painful process of: - Call doctor's office, ask them to send the Rx to express scripts. - Call express scripts, verify they have the Rx. - Two days before you run out of medication, you get an automated call from Express scripts telling you to call them back. - Call Express Scripts, wait on hold for 30 minutes. - Someone finally tells you that there's a problem with the Rx, and you need to call your doctor and have him re-send the Rx specifiying dosages, etc. in a a very specific way. This is Friday afternoon, of course, and your Doctor's office is already closed. - When you explain you're going to a miss a dose of a medication that is dangerous to stop suddenly, they absolutely do not care ("You'll have it in 5-7 days, once we receive all the info we need", click). It isn't just me. I overhear a lot of angry phone calls between employees and express scripts in the cube farm at work now. Employees are wasting work-time dealing with something that used to be simple - getting their prescriptions filled. Hope the shareholders are happy.