Amazon Prescription Service

[Zee09]

Your doctor can usually prescribe a 3-month supply.

He does but the insurance gives me month to month.
So last time I told them I will pay and then I got the three months... Constant drama..lol

 

[Astro14]

Good point, makes me wonder if the meds are transported in a climate controlled delivery truck and on a climate controlled plane to the US. Is cargo even climate controlled, especially sensitive items such as medicine? Maybe @Astro14 can elaborate.

I really hope they do not sit in the 110* storage container at Mumbai shipping terminal for a week.

I'm afraid that I don't know enough about cargo operations to be able to answer that. Cargo pits on our airplanes are climate controlled to some degree - as are the FedEx fleet. But how the cargo is handled before loading? No idea..

 

[dogememe]

I have Kaiser and I’m on 2 meds. One is generic I pay $10/mo and one is name brand only so I pay $30/mo. They offer a discount to ship it to your house but I generally just go pick them both up in person because one of my meds can’t be shipped because I guess they figure the mailman is gonna somehow magically know it’s a valuable controlled substance and steal it?

I’m not a big fan of Amazon, but if I didn’t have Kaiser I’d probably use it for convenience. I’ve never heard anything but complaints about hassles and wait times at pharmacies around here. Kaiser pharmacies always great. In and out in 5 mins or less.

 

[dogememe]

He does but the insurance gives me month to month.
So last time I told them I will pay and then I got the three months... Constant drama..lol

Idk, I usually get my adhd meds 3 mo at a time. Then I proceed to forget to take it most of the time so I refill my prescription like every 6 mo. But I’ve been with the same doctor a long time. Never asked for more. Never asked for it early.

Edit: I think I replied to the wrong comment. Meant to reply to one about 3 month prescriptions on controlled substances. Sorry.

 

[Zee09]

If in Florida I don't mind month to month with Publix for free..
Here it's a bit different because of distance.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

It is a good choice if you want to save money. The model is the same one the others use. Most pharmacies do not refill prescriptions on site, there is a large refill warehouse that does it and then ships the refills to the stores. It’s all computers and robotics.

Amazon will be using the same generic brands the others use as well. Their advantage in this will be volume

LOL


Can you tell me what the 2-3 people are doing behind the counter pouring pills into trays and machines and holding bottles up to them at Publix, Kroger, CVS, WalGreens, and every locally-owned pharmacy within 100 miles of my house then?

 

[64bawagon]

i would be more concerned about meds being transported in a hot or cold delivery truck and then on a porch or cooling in a mail box. Most meds have a small window of safe temperature ranges before they denature. How much do they denature, who knows but it could be a risk. Hopefully the trucks transporting the meds to the pharmacy have some climate control.

I believe the pharmacy is responsible for packaging a temp sensitive med so that it maintains the appropriate temp. Items that require refrigeration are shipped next day or 2 day air and are shipped in insulated containers with ice packs.

 

[PimTac]

LOL


Can you tell me what the 2-3 people are doing behind the counter pouring pills into trays and machines and holding bottles up to them at Publix, Kroger, CVS, WalGreens, and every locally-owned pharmacy within 100 miles of my house then?

They are filling prescriptions called in by doctors and dropped off by customers.

The point I was making was about refills. When you submit a refill request it’s not those people that do it unless it’s a last minute thing. The vast majority of refills are done offsite.

 

[mrsilv04]

I've been a Prime customer for a few years now, and I've seen Amazon do way too many stupid things for them to be dispensing my prescriptions, regardless of how much I might save. No thanks.

 

[Leo99]

Good point, makes me wonder if the meds are transported in a climate controlled delivery truck and on a climate controlled plane to the US. Is cargo even climate controlled, especially sensitive items such as medicine? Maybe @Astro14 can elaborate.

I really hope they do not sit in the 110* storage container at Mumbai shipping terminal for a week.

I can answer this. Whenever there is a temperature excursion during shipping or storage, it's my responsibility to adjudicate the suitability of the drug for use. We have stability data that lets us know the ranges and times out of range that are acceptable. For international air shipments we use an Envirotainer RKN that I'm told are shaped to fit in the cargo holds of the widebody planes. There are companies like World Courier and QuickStat that handle the logistics for small companies like mine. For ground shipments we use FedEx Custom Critical refrigerated trucks or regular Fed Ex with qualified coolers. Bigger companies use non-disposable coolers. All shipments have a temperature logger. Usually a TempTale. It looks like a USB thumb drive. It records the temperatures during shipment and the recipient plugs it into their computer and downloads a pdf of the shipment. I'm dealing with a situation at work presently where the company that packed the shipment forgot the temperature recorder. Here is an example that came to me in alarm because the recipient forgot to shut it off immediately after they opened the cooler. This is common. 15C to 25C is controlled room temperature as defined by USP. The guy delivering from the Amazon warehouse to your house it probably not using a temperature controlled truck. But then again, I'm not sure if the truck going from the distributer to your local pharmacy is using temperature controlled trucks, either.

 

[Pablo]

I've been a Prime customer for a few years now, and I've seen Amazon do way too many stupid things for them to be dispensing my prescriptions, regardless of how much I might save. No thanks.

This.

Not that I need meds but I'm not talking to some jackal in Bombipine Sovereign Island about my rectal suppositories..............for my pet skunk.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I can answer this. Whenever there is a temperature excursion during shipping or storage, it's my responsibility to adjudicate the suitability of the drug for use. We have stability data that lets us know the ranges and times out of range that are acceptable. For international air shipments we use an Envirotainer RKN that I'm told are shaped to fit in the cargo holds of the widebody planes. There are companies like World Courier and QuickStat that handle the logistics for small companies like mine. For ground shipments we use FedEx Custom Critical refrigerated trucks or regular Fed Ex with qualified coolers. Bigger companies use non-disposable coolers. All shipments have a temperature logger. Usually a TempTale. It looks like a USB thumb drive. It records the temperatures during shipment and the recipient plugs it into their computer and downloads a pdf of the shipment. I'm dealing with a situation at work presently where the company that packed the shipment forgot the temperature recorder. Here is an example that came to me in alarm because the recipient forgot to shut it off immediately after they opened the cooler. This is common. 15C to 25C is controlled room temperature as defined by USP. The guy delivering from the Amazon warehouse to your house it probably not using a temperature controlled truck. But then again, I'm not sure if the truck going from the distributer to your local pharmacy is using temperature controlled trucks, either.

Thank you for the explanation. It’s good to see there is so much care throughout the majority of the shipping pipeline. It’s that last mile that is concerning.

 

[PimTac]

Thank you for the explanation. It’s good to see there is so much care throughout the majority of the shipping pipeline. It’s that last mile that is concerning.

A lot of temperature sensitive drugs we would handle had temperature tape or other devices that would show a certain color if they had been exposed to too much heat. If we discovered any that showed that then a quick call to the distributor was made and they would swap it out with a good one. It rarely happened.