Staying Healthy
When medication deliveries hit a snag
Whether by mail carrier or local courier, deliveries have some risks. Here's what to do if there's a problem.
Getting prescription medications delivered to your home is an important service, and many millions of Americans rely on it. But it comes with snafus, especially as the United States faces challenges with its work force, supply chain, and postal service.
One national survey conducted in August 2020, for example, suggested that one in four mail-order prescription users had experienced a problem with medication delivery the week before. That was particularly true early in the pandemic, and delivery issues may have improved since then, depending on where you live.
What can go wrong?
Prescription deliveries have the potential for several problems, says Joanne Doyle Petrongolo, a pharmacist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. For example, they might be delayed, damaged, delivered to the wrong address, lost, or stolen.
You can miss a delivery if it requires a signature and you're not home — or you can't get to the door before the delivery person leaves.
Or the package may be left in an unusual spot. "I have one patient whose medication was left on the back porch instead of the front porch. He didn't find it until two days later," Doyle Petrongolo says. "Perhaps the delivery person thought the package was less likely to be stolen from the back porch."
What you can do
Take action when medications don't arrive. First, see if the package was left in a spot you hadn't anticipated (such as a mailbox or back porch). If you live in an apartment or a condo, check the mailroom.
Next, contact the delivery service, whether it's a local courier (such as Shipt or Instacart) or a mail service (such as the USPS or FedEx). Having a tracking number will help in locating your medication.
If you don't know which service is delivering your medications and you don't have a tracking number, Doyle Petrongolo says the pharmacy should be able to give you that information and tell you when the package left the pharmacy. "They may even be able to contact the delivery service," she notes.
Avoiding delivery problemsThe following steps may help you avoid medication delivery problems, or at least give you the tools to act if something goes wrong.
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Lost, stolen, or damaged drugs
Do call your pharmacy if you believe your medication has been lost, stolen, or damaged. But brace yourself: getting a replacement may be complicated. "In order to legally send out another prescription, we need a prescription that allows for refills, or we need a new prescription from the doctor," Doyle Petrongolo says.
Who'll pay for a replacement? It might be you, since the insurance company paid for the first prescription that went out.
"But there may be policies for the pharmacy to get a 'lost prescription override' so the insurance will pay for it again," Doyle Petrongolo explains. "It depends on the insurance."
Is home delivery worth the risk?
Most deliveries go smoothly, but there's no guarantee. If you're concerned about the delivery of extremely urgent, expensive, or temperature-sensitive medications, consider another way to get your prescriptions.
"If you're homebound or in a rural area, there may not be another option," Doyle Petrongolo says. "Just be as knowledgeable about the delivery as possible, so you'll be better equipped to act if things go awry. We want you to feel empowered."
Image: © SolStock/Getty Images
About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
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