I donīt understand the Spanish policy of meds distribution.

[blondbeauty]

I am supposed to go every month to the pharmacy of my hospital to collect my meds. But last Xmas they gave me a 2 month supply without even asking. This July I told them I was going on vacation ant they gave me a two month supply again. In September I got my month supply and I went today to have my blood drawn...I passed through the pharmacy and they gave me my October month supply and it is still September, so the have given me meds twice this month.
If prescriptions are for four months why do they make me go to the Hospital once a month? Why donīt they give me the 4 month supply all at the same time if it does not really matter?
I donīt understand this bureaucracy.

[Cliff]

Have you asked the hospital about this?  I'm sure you're not the only who would prefer to get a 3 or 4-month supply of meds in one go.  It seems like a cost effective solution anyway!

[Miss Philicia]

Why do you take double the amount then?  If these people are making mistakes aren't you just contributing to the public cost?  Why don't you alert them to the fact you now have excess medications?  Am I reading this correctly, that when they give you 2 months of meds you still go monthly and are picking them up, so in effect you have excess amounts of medication now sitting around your house?

Sounds suspiciously like scam-like activity frankly.  Either that or extreme incompetence.  Generally I err on the side of not wanting to get an employee in trouble, but this sounds fishy.

In total how many months of non-used meds do you have now?

[blondbeauty]

No. They mark in the prescription the supply given to me and the remaining I can pick with that same prescription. Everything is kept in their computers and every time I collect them I must sign. You don't get a new prescription till 4 months have elapsed. They keep the prescription once you pick the fourth and last supply. But why don't they give me the 4 month supply at once and keep the prescription with them from the very first day instead of making me go there once a month if they don't really care?
Once they made a mistake. They did not have Sustiva 600 and gave Sustiva 200. They thought they had to give me three bottles to make a one month supply of 200mg. The young pharmacist was in a hurry. She did not realise every bottle had 90 pills. I noticed in the car and took them back to the pharmacy. While queuing to return them I received a call from the pharmacy to tell me I had to take 3 pills a day at the same time but they said nothing about the three bottles they had just given me. They wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for me.
I have the supply they gave me in September that lasts till the 9th of October + a 30 day supply more they gave me today.
I would love to have an excess of meds sitting around my house to save me trips to the hospital, time an gas.. A year supply picked in January would be great. For the NHS would be the same to pay it all at once than little by little 12 times a year.

[Grasshopper]

A year supply picked in January would be great. For the NHS would be the same to pay it all at once than little by little 12 times a year.

And what happens when a couple of months later for some reason you have to switch meds ?

This is what has happend with me in the past, and I had to trow away thousands of €'s worth of meds, because once dispensed they can't be returned to the pharmacy, not even if the containers are still sealed.

[Grasshopper]

double post

something is very wrong here today

[Cliff]

Instead of throwing away the meds, you can also donate them to organisations that will provide the medicine to people (in other countries) who don't have access to HIV meds.  And Lisa, a forum member here, also collects meds to distribute to those in needs.

[blondbeauty]

Weeeell...OoooK. I will take just a 4 month supply: the prescription I get in every appointment with my Dr. Even if my meds fail it will take me 4 months to find out so I would have consumed them all. That is only 3 visits to the pharmacy each year instead of 12.

[LPinUK]

Blonde, I agree it seems daft that you have to go back each month for your meds, I have an appt every 4 months and providing my labs are ok they send me 4 months of meds by post a week or so later, one thing the good old NHS has got right in my opinion!

[Dragonette]

I have had excess meds before and always donated them, my hospital is more than happy to take them. There are refugees with no access to meds in NL as well or like Cliff said plenty of places to send them overseas.

[blondbeauty]

LpinUK, By post? That sounds great. I have been calculating the number of times I go to the hospital each year: 12 (to get meds) + 3 (to have blood drawn) + 3 (for Dr. appointments) =18. And I am saving 2 visits because I wait 4 months between appointments instead of 3 as my Dr. wants me to.
If I become resitant to my meds and have leftovers I would, of course, send them to Lisa.

[Cliff]

Talk to your hospital and the patient support group, if one exist for your hospital.  At my clinic, I only see my doctor once a year.  I get my bloods done every 4-8 months.  If you're on meds, you can do at home clinic.  Basically get your blood drawn every 3 months and your prescriptions are automatically mailed to your home.  You can see the doctor 1 or 2 times a year, if you're stable.

Going every month, seems like an unnecessary burden to the system.

[David_CA]

I pick up my meds every month.  I go by my Dr.'s office to pick up one particular Rx, as it can't be called in and is nonrefillable (Adderall).  I go to my Dr's office 5-6 time per year, if not more, for appointments.  I'm there about 4 times a year for labs.  Add that up and it's over 30 trips per year.  You know, I'm glad that I can pick up my meds (from the pharmacy) instead of having to rely on flaky mail-order pharmacies like my hubby does.  I'm glad I have a low copay for my meds, although I still pay around $100 a month for all of them.  I'm glad that I have a good Dr. that I can see pretty much whenever I need to.  I can get an Rx filled with a phone call (except Adderall).  I have excellent insurance (with no caps or limits).  Sure, it's somewhat inconvenient.  What do I have to complain about, besides having HIV in the first place?  If one were given a multiple months supply of several meds, there's the likelihood for waste.  People lose meds.  Meds get stolen.  People's needs for meds change (resistance, not needing particular ones, etc).  If the system is set up to give them monthly, there is a bit more control of this waste.  A lot of us wouldn't waste meds - we'd give them away to those who distribute them to other countries or to individuals that do the same.  Since some this really isn't legal, a country's policy can't rely on it or condone it.  All they can do is to reduce cost and waste and giving meds on a month-by-month basis is one way to do this.  If that's what it takes to get HIV meds to folks, I have no problem with it.

David