Oct 13, 2008 11:00 am US/Eastern
Dr. Mallika's Files: Moving Medication Crisis
Each week Dr. Mallika Marshall shares cases based on true stories from a local urgent care clinic, exclusively on wbztv.com. Names and identifiable characteristics of patients have been omitted or changed to protect patient privacy.
This Week's Case: A 32-year old woman comes to clinic saying that she has just moved to Boston from California and needs a refill of her diabetes medications. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager and is on daily insulin shots as well as a number of other medications that she takes on a regular basis. She says she only has one day's worth of medication left. She did not ask her doctor in California to write prescriptions for more medication to ensure she would not run out until she could find a new doctor in Boston. "I didn't think about it." She is also five months pregnant.
This is a perfect case to illustrate how important it is to be prepared before you travel. This young lady has a serious underlying medication condition and if she goes more than a day without insulin, is at risk of having a hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) crisis which puts her life and the life of her unborn child in jeopardy. Yet, she has traveled cross-country with enough medication to last her only a few days.
If you are moving out of state or even going on vacation, and you have underlying medical conditions that require you to take daily medication, please plan ahead:
- Make sure you have enough medication on you to last for at least a month
- Have your doctor write prescriptions for your medications in case you need refills before you can see a new doctor
- Bring the names, phone numbers, and addresses of all of your current physicians
- Keep a list of your medical problems, medications with doses, and allergies on your person at all times in case of emergency
There's nothing worse than being in an unfamiliar place without access to your medications…that in some cases, could be life-saving.
Follow-Up
With her out-of-state insurance, it was difficult to prescribe all of the medications she needed without pre-approval. But we were able to get her a 3-day emergency supply to last her until the insurance company approval came through. She was set up with a nurse midwife and a primary care physician so that she and her baby would get optimal care here in the Boston area.
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