Study: Mail order problems deprive patients of drugs, group says

A new survey by a pharmacy group claims that many patients are going without the prescribed medications due to drug mishandling by mail order pharmacies.

The study, which can't be an upper for the mail order drug business, looked at more than 400 patients who got their drugs from mail-order companies. Researchers with the National Community Pharmacists Association concluded that 48 percent of respondents had to go without their meds because the mail-order service delivered their medications late.

Meanwhile, patients required by health plans to use mail order had worse problems. Sixty-three percent said their deliveries came late, as opposed to those who received drugs from pharmacies (28 percent).

Because of these delays, some patients paid for prescription drugs twice, once for their mail order drugs and again at community drugstores when their medication was late and they needed emergency supplies. This happened to 85 percent of patients surveyed whose drugs come by mail, the survey concluded.

To learn more about this study:
- read this NCPA press release

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