Delayed Prescription Drug Deliveries

[AARPMichaelP]

Mail orders for prescription drugs have risen 20% since the pandemic began, making the postal service shortages even more dangerous for those in need...especially in rural areas. 

Have you or your loved one had any of your prescriptions delayed because of postal service changes? 

[happyone1959]

I am concerned about a different aspect of prescription drug deliveries. Prescription medicines are not supposed to be exposed to heat---it says so right on the flyers, not to be kept above 80 degrees Fahrenheit!  And yet US Postal trucks are not air conditioned and mailboxes are like tiny ovens.  Even if I wait for the postal carrier and run right out, the medicines are boiling hot (this is Florida, but a lot of seniors live in warmer climates; the meds are much hotter than body-temperature--hot to the touch and thus above 98 degrees).

The medicines will lose effectiveness (can they also become unsafe?)  Why would we want baked prescriptions that are known to be less effective when exposed to hot conditions?  Why would we allow that? It is not a cost savings that is worth it; we pay for medicine but it is less effective (and thus possibly unsafe). 

This prescription delivery system is BAD!  Why is it mandated? Can we create a movement to make this stop? Can we run an AARP feature on it, and can AARP ask what the FDA thinks about the safety and effectiveness of prescriptions that are transported for hours, and stored in mailboxes for hours,  in 98-degree-plus conditions?