SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) — David Small’s anxiousness was getting worse by the minute.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Small said. “I was nauseous, I didn’t eat. I kept reasoning the worst.”
As Hurricane Ian barreled toward Florida with fury, way inactive unclear, Small got his hurricane kit ready. He had capable of everything but his opioid symptom medication, oxycodone.
“With the symptom medications I person my aches and pains,” Small explained. “There are days I can’t get retired of bed. Without it, I don’t cognize however I could adjacent fathom getting to safety.”
The Spring Hill nonmigratory mislaid his limb years ago, acknowledgment to a tumor and a lupus flare-up. He thought helium could get an exigency 30-day refill, and made telephone aft telephone to his security company, Florida Blue.
“Going to person to hold until Monday, we’re not open,” Small recalled Florida Blue representatives saying. “Nobody is present to instrumentality your order. Should person thought astir this earlier now.”
In a statement, Florida Blue said: “Prescription drugs that are highly regulated by the state, specified arsenic opioids and amphetamines, are not eligible for automatic aboriginal refills owed to the stringent guidelines successful spot from the authorities aimed astatine reducing maltreatment and overuse of these medications. If a subordinate is successful request an aboriginal refill of their controlled medication, we promote them to talk with their pharmacist successful summation to calling the toll-free fig connected the backmost of their subordinate ID card.”
Small called, and called, and called.
“There’s a Florida statute that requires pharmacists and doctors beryllium capable to contented and capable a 30-day proviso erstwhile the politician has issued the exigency declaration,” said Ryan L. Terry, nationalist accusation serviceman for the Florida Department of Health successful Hillsborough County.
“It’s not conscionable to get you done the storm,” Terry said. “It’s besides to hole you for aft the storm.”
Small spoke with assorted Florida Blue representatives and felt turned astir aft truthful galore telephone calls. Finally, helium got his medicine overnighted to him — it arrived Tuesday day — about 24 hours earlier Ian made landfall. Now, Small wants it to beryllium easier for radical similar him to get the medications they need.
Medical experts besides urge not utilizing mail-order pharmacies with controlled substances if you request aboriginal entree to medication. They besides accidental it’s champion to support those prescriptions astatine the aforesaid pharmacy period aft period — switching pharmacies tin look suspicious.
You tin besides usage what’s called a “vacation exception” if you request an exigency refill. It’s a one-time exemption to get your medications usually owed to a agelong vacation, but it tin beryllium utilized for hurricanes and different disasters. It is simply a once-a-year exception, truthful if you usage it and there’s different emergency, you’ll request to talk with your security oregon pharmacy.
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