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With Hurricane season a little over two weeks away the time has come for those of us who live anywhere within the reach of these storms (and that can be hundreds of miles in from the coast) to begin our yearly storm preparations.
This year National Hurricane Preparedness Week runs from May 27th through June 2nd, and I’ll have a good deal of coverage at that time. But today a preparedness step that could be life saving in any disaster situation.
As our population ages, more and more of us are dependent upon daily prescription medications. Blood pressure pills, cardiac drugs, and meds for a host of other conditions are taken by tens of millions of Americans every day.
As many people discovered after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, getting refills when you’ve had to evacuate, or your pharmacy is flooded, can be nearly impossible.
Which makes maintaining an adequate supply of essential prescription medication in your emergency kit, along with copies of your prescriptions, a particularly important part of many individual’s and family’s preparedness plan.
Most doctors will gladly write an extra 14 or 30 day `disaster stash’ script for your most vital medications if you express your concern, and the AMA endorsed this idea several years ago (see AMA Now Supports Personal Rx Stockpiling For Disasters).
Depending upon your insurance coverage, you may have to pay for them out of pocket, but it certainly beats the alternative.
And if you do obtain a disaster stash, make sure to use and rotate those meds before they expire.
FEMA has long recommended that those with special needs make special preparations.
Considerations for people responsible for disabled individuals:
- For those on respirators or other electric-powered medical equipment, make prior arrangements with your physician or check with your oxygen supplier about emergency plans, and be sure to have electrical back-up for any medical equipment.
- Maintain a two-week supply of items such as dressings, nasal cannulas and suction catheters.
- Maintain a two-week supply of both prescription and non-prescription medications.
- Keep copies of your medical records.
- Keep copies of prescriptions for medical equipment, supplies and medications.
- Keep extra contact lenses and supplies, extra eyeglasses and extra batteries for hearing aids.
- Make plans now to have accessible transportation in case of evacuation.
- Shelters may be limited in accommodations to meet some of the needs of those with disabilities. Prepare ahead of time to ensure you will have what you need.
There are federal programs designed to assist those in a federally declared disaster zone with their emergency prescription needs. It is called EPAP or Emergency Prescription Assistance Program.
The goals of EPAP are to:
- Ensure access to covered prescription drugs and DME for eligible individuals who present at a pharmacy with a valid prescription, at no cost to the affected individual.
- Implement real-time point-of-sale eligibility checks and system edits for claims where the pharmacist has found no other coverage to limit dispensing of EPAP covered drugs and DME to eligible individuals.
- Facilitate legitimate pharmacy claims from new pharmacy locations and other out of network pharmacies on an as-needed basis.
But of course, you’ll need to be able to prove you are eligible and that you have a valid prescription (see Eligibility Information Sheet For Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP)).
And depending upon the size and scope of the disaster, there could be delays in getting your prescriptions processed.
So having an extra supply on hand is still important.
As is knowing what to do if your prescriptions are damaged in a disaster. Here, the FDA offers some advice.
Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the FDA offers the following information on the use of drugs that have been potentially affected by fire, flooding or unsafe water and the use of temperature-sensitive drug products when refrigeration is temporarily unavailable.
And on a related subject, everyone should have a readily available (preferably carried in your wallet or purse), EMERGENCY medical history.
I addressed that issue in a blog called Those Who Forget Their History . . . . A few excerpts (but follow the link to read the whole thing):
Since you can’t always know, in advance, when you might need medical care it is important to carry with you some kind of medical history at all times. It can tell doctors important information about your history, medications, and allergies when you can’t.
Many hospitals and pharmacies provide – either free, or for a very nominal sum – folding wallet medical history forms with a plastic sleeve to protect them.
I’ve scanned the one offered by one of our local hospitals below. It is rudimentary, but covers the basics.
In a medical emergency, minutes can make the difference between life and death. And even in less urgent cases, having all of this information can go a long ways towards speeding your treatment.
While disasters like hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes are never pleasant experiences, the things we do in advance can make the difference between being inconvenienced and uncomfortable, and being irreparably harmed.
Those with special medical needs are all the more vulnerable during a disaster, and so extra preparations are warranted.
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