Hi all,
I may have mentioned this before, but while my response to the maximal dosage of Besremi has been measurable in other ways, my Hct control has been off and on.
Most of the time SWMBO is at home to receive and sign for the monthly delivery of Besremi, so it wasn't until I was out of work [from 5/23 until 9/23] that I was home to accept its delivery.
On doing so, I immediately noticed that the outer carton was very warm- my non-contact thermometer read 78 degrees F.
Then once I opened it, despite being in an insulated Mylar bag inside the shipping carton, the little inner-bubble-wrapped bag containing my 2 doses of Besremi was perched on top of them and not covered by any of the little reusable 'blue ice' packs- so I checked the temperature before I removed it from the outer bag and carton, and it read 54 F. [It was the same temp inside the bubble wrap.]
The pile of ice packs it was sitting on was measured at 36 F. I was of course immediately concerned, because the maximum recommended temperature for Besremi's shipping and storage is 46 F.
Since it was the first time I saw it, I thought it might just have been a fluke, so I asked SWMBO, and she said that all the shipment she had received were packed that way.
I waited until the next month, and again measured the outer carton's temp, the bubble wrap exterior temp. the medication box inside the bubble wrap, and the ice packs,- and I took photos to document the findings.
I contacted Roswell Park's oncology pharmacist and sent him the history, supported by the pictures, with the question:
"Could the medication having been out of the specified temperature range for storage and shipping cause it to be less potent or efficacious?"
He did some research and replied in the affirmative, then suggested that I contact Onco360 and advise them of what was happening.
I emailed them with no response, so I called and told my tale to a customer service operator, who to her credit wasted no time at all in getting a pharmacist on the line with us.
I told him my concerns, and he was less than interested, but said that he would address the problem by making sure to inform the person who packed the medication for shipping to "put more ice packs into the package".
I assured him that the inside of the package was quite cold enough, and that all that needed to ber done was to put half the current number of ice packs in, then put the medicine in, and cover it with the remainder of the ice packs. He did not appear to be listening any longer.
As you might expect, the shipments we have been receiving since that call have been somewhat heavier- because they did increase the number of ice packs, but what they didn't do was to cover the medication in them.
Thus the medication is still arriving with a temperature in the mid to upper 50's F [for the last 2 times 8/23 and 9/23].
Has anyone else had similar issues with their medication shipments?
If you were, would you next contact the manufacturer directly about the pharmacy's handling of their medication, the FDA, anyone?
Finally, the number of the re-usable 'blue ice' packs being stored in our basement is getting a bit ridiculous, but although they say that they're recyclable, no recycler in our area will handle them- does anyone have any suggestions as to who might be able to find some use for them?
Thanks for reading!
Best,
PA
