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Whenever my Mother is inpatient at the hospital, I set aside her medications and fill them the following month as if they were used. This allows me to have an emergency stash.
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Most insurance plans allow you to refill a bit early (mine is ever 3 month RX and I can renew at approx 60 days). Check when you can refill your mom's prescriptions and fill them at the earliest date as often as needed to get a supply on hand.
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Ask your Dr specifically for separate prescriptions for an emergency supply and fill them separately. You will have to pay for these medications yourself as insurance companies won't pay for extras. depending on your level of paranoia a 1-4 week supply is appropriate. You may or may not be able to get an extra supply of narcotics
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Just keep the meds handy where you can grab them on the way out. The problem with putting them in the bag is that you might be taking meds they no longer use, or they will be out of date or the wrong dosage. The emergency bag should have important paperwork and contact numbers, copies of the prescriptions and some medical history for
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I have the same problem, cannot get meds except thru the mail, and they absolutely positively will not ship out before 90 days, and then only a 90 day supply. The doc also will not under any circumstances write more than a one-year rx. This is all a bunch of baloney if you ask me---people need to have control and responsibility for their own health---and if we want to pay for an extra month of whatever it is, we should be able to do that.
Maybe go to Canada on vacation (yeah right when's the last time I had a vacation, as caregiver I don't get one....). But anyhow maybe you can get an rx for at least a 10-day supply when on vacation.
In my experience with my own health issues, at ER they will only give you one DAY's supply.
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PrettyGood you drug plan will only supply your mother's medication through the mail in a 90 day supply. This is designed to save everyone money and is part of your insurance company contract. However if your Dr will co-operate he/she can write a seperate prescription for you to purchase a private supply from any local pharmacy. You will have to pay full price for these meds. Your Dr is only allowed to prescribe a one year prescription and in any event you should be ssing a Dr at least year to be evaluated. They can send new prescriptions to your mail order company or local pharmacy of your choice. Pam Staedman advised at the begining of this thread to keep all medications together and grab the whole bag in an emergency. I would second this advice. I keep everything together in a washbag on the kitchen table and fill a weekly pill boxwhich is a very convenient way to manage everything. When I fill the box I reorder any meds that have less than a one week supply left.
As far as the ER is concerned they only give a one day supply because they also give you the necessary prescriptions to fill within 24 hours.
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thank you veronica. my unwritten concern is that yes, we would have to pay the full price for the emergency supply of medicines, which is really quite high, I wish it were otherwise.
This would probably be a yearly expense since some of the drugs expire within a year.
Yes the ER doc's will give you an rx but depending on the med sometimes it's only a few pills, they tell you to go visit your regular doc or a specialist, (more money) to get a longer rx (or maybe a different rx, since the ER doc is not a specialist).
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What is the emergency supply for? I've never kept an emergency supply on hand, for myself, my mother, or my husband. I submit refill requests in time to allow a few days delay in getting them filled.

I just don't understand the concept ...
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PrettyGood you can just rotate your emergency supply with the regular meds then they are always fresh
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As one who went through Hurricane Katrina, getting a RX refilled or a few days meds will not be an issue if the disaster was major enough. (Now finding a pharmacy when where you live has been vaporized, well that is whole other story) You just will need to have your current medication refill # for reference. Medco (which is now Express Scripts) was no problem in getting refills before the "every 90 day" rule for those we had on file & got from them under hubby's health plan. Walgreens& CVS were fine on extra 30 days too for those @ those pharmacies. If POTUS has declared the area a state of emergency that is all you need to get past the pharmacy prescription rules.

Now if you live in an area that gets hurricanes, you need to have some sort of plan of just what determines if you stay or go & what you need to be able to function for days or weeks away. Also be aware of where the shelters of last resort are and which ones are set up for those with specialized medical situations. The medical require a pretty severe need, like those on breathing machines.
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