What happens if you forget a critical prescription has no refills and the doctor is on vacation? Or what if while traveling you run out? Perhaps your doctor doesn’t have any appointments available. Maybe you’re too sick to go to the doctor or there’s a miscommunication. Do you know if your state has legislation ensuring access? Jump below the commercial break to learn more.
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* kosability’s meeting will be two weeks from tonight — 24 nov at 4 pm pdt (7 pm EDT)
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Because running out of your life-sustaining medicine shouldn’t be a death sentence, some states have passed legislation, often called Kevin’s Law, that ensure emergency access. Knowing you have this right can help you avoid Kevin’s fate.
Advocacy for emergency access laws gained momentum in 2015, following the death of Ohio resident Kevin Houdeshell in 2014. That year, over the New Year’s holiday, Kevin’s prescription for insulin ran out of refills, and he was unable to contact his doctor’s office to obtain a new prescription. Kevin was turned away from the pharmacy and sent home without insulin. To make his prescription last until he could reach his doctor for a refill, Kevin began rationing his doses. [...]
On January 8th, 2014, Kevin did not show up to work. A friend went to check on him and found him alone in his apartment, deceased. Kevin was 36 years old and his death was completely preventable. Following his passing, Kevin’s family has advocated for emergency prescription refill legislation across the United States to ensure that patients always have access to the medication they need to survive, even if their prescription has expired.
Status of Kevin’s Law: Blue = in effect | Purple = passed but ineffective | Red = Workable but needs fixed | Yellow = in Legislative process 2019
So far twenty states have laws giving pharmacists the right to authorize a prescription refill and dispense an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug (see above map). The drugs covered under these laws vary among states. Some include only insulin but others cover Epipen, inhalers, blood thinners, and drugs for blood pressure, mental health, and HIV maintenance. Controlled substances like opioids are excluded. The allowable quantity of medicine (e.g., enough for 72 hours to 30 days) and frequency of an emergency refill (1 to 3 times per year) varies among states, as does a mandate requiring insurance to cover such refills.
Typically, the bill allows a pharmacist to dispense an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance drug to a patient without a prescription if:
● The pharmacist is unable to obtain authorization to refill the prescription from a healthcare provider;
● The pharmacist has a record of a prescription in the name of the patient or, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, the refusal to dispense an emergency supply will endanger the health of the patient; and
● The amount of the chronic maintenance drug dispensed does not exceed the amount of the most recent prescription or the standard quantity or unit of use package dispensed of the drug.
Kevin’s death happened one week after he was unable to refill a prescription and motivated his family to make sure others wouldn’t die if their prescriptions ran out unexpectedly, as long as the pharmacists are on top of the law.
Patients seeking an emergency refill may need to be forceful when pharmacists are unfamiliar with the law, as Erin Gilmer, a health policy attorney and patient advocate in Colorado discovered. She takes medication for Type 1 diabetes, autoimmune disorders and chronic illnesses and while seeking a new doctor one of her prescriptions needed refilling. Walgreens refused to refill it because the pharmacist didn’t know the law existed. Gilmer knew because she helped write Kevin’s Law for Colorado. Her inability to acquire medications under state law highlights the importance of knowing your legal rights and being prepared to self-advocate.
Please join us for our meeting on 24 November. Topic to be determined.
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