Meds

[babyray]

What happens when your Meds let lost in the mail. Who do u call or get the pharmacy to send u some more? any body out there has this happen to them.

babyray

[Berta]

Contact both the pharmacy and also a Patient advocate at the VAMC. or go there in person .Also contact the PO.

I know what type of problems this can lead to- so best to act fast on this.

We had a similiar problem here when my hsband got another vet's meds. Right meds but different dose and he had a visual problem and didnt notice the wrong name on them.Neither did I . I always checked them against the Physician's desk reference to see if they looked like what they should.I never checked the name on them.

They gave the other vet a very hard time- I called him up when I saw his name on the meds.He could have died due to this error.

My husband couldn't go to the pharmacy to complain when I discovered this error-he had already died days after getting the wrong meds.

If the VA does not want to refill your meds promptly and if it is critical that you have them(such as HBP meds etc)

call your Congressman's office too -right from the VAMC and ask for the veteran's liason person and maybe that will get it straightened out.

These errors can be critical.Even fatal. Make sure you check with the post office first because the PO is sure the first place the VA will blame.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Berta

[Pete53]

Meds by mail has some real short comings and losing narcotics seems to be one of them. It has happened to me several times and it is a nightmare. Berta gave good advice I would do that

In the past they have found that the stuff was stolen by VA or Post Office employees more times than you can think.

Its not that they don't draw a picture on my xanax and hydrocodone they have a special yellow sticker.

[john999]

Make sure they have your correct address. The VA changed my address a few months ago and sent my narcotics to some place in Maine. I live in Florida. Of course, the VA blamed me and swore I changed the address. I spent days getting that fixed and getting my meds. I get them by certified mail and they did not come on time. I got nothing but lame excuses from the pharmacy. The patient advocate was useless. I had a contact via my regular PCP and she got it fixed. I was fit to be tied. Your PCP can make things happen if you have a good one. I spent about two days at the VAMC getting things straightend out. I understand why people want nothing to do with depending on the VA for their meds. Some of us don't have much choice since we don't own an oil well.

[Berta]

John- the VA spent more time writing me up in a Report of COntact document I found in my C file -when I went over there to Bath VA to raise Hell on the error they made that I posted about- then looking into the problem.

I called Congressman Houghton's office as soon as I got home and raised more hell and gave the VA liason person the name of the other vet.

Then 2 weeks later I called up the other vet- he said after he went to the VA 3 times that6 first week when this happened and they refused to give him his meds, and were very nasty to him-he said they called him up and told him his meds were ready and they treated him real good when he showed up.

I was glad he was not damaged by this error. He lived on one hill over from me but I could prove this was NOT a PO error at all.

I would have asked him to come here to write a 1151 claim for him if he had gotten worse. For an elderly person HBP medication MUST be taken every day with no medication break.

He could have had a stroke or died.

Oddly enough this wrong med was the dosage my husband Should have been on for years.It wasn't instrumental in his wrongful death. But another VA med was.(I proved 6 years of VA prescribed sudafed )was one of multiple negligent factors that caused his sudden death )