I was notified by my employer that on April 1 my pharmacy insurance is going to require that all maintenance drugs (and diabetic supplies like CGMs) will dispensed by an out of state mail order company, one which my local pharmacist has never heard of. Has anyone received insulin by mail order? How is it shipped? Does it stay cold? Does the insulin deteriorate more rapidly? I get a 3 month supply so I would imagine that I would be OK for the first month. Do I complain? Ask for special shipping? Request a one month supply?
I planned a vacation at the end of May. I certainly don't want to take bad insulin with me.
I have gotten mail order insulin and never had a problem. It came in a styrofoam container and chilled. Still cold when I got it even in summer.
Yes in my experience they ship it with “cold packs” but I would not trust insulin in hot weather. I have had supplies arrive hot and was a pain to return. i do not do mail order for that reason even though it is much cheaper, CGM and pumps supplies are always under durable medical equipment coverage. Good luck!
That's great. Thanks for the info.
I have to order my insulin from my insurance company's mail-order pharmacy, and I have had many problems with it arriving hot, especially in the summer months. Plus, it is delivered by UPS, and it can sit in their hot truck all day long before it gets delivered. They just put it on my front porch and leave it there, which only adds to the problems. It is usually packed in a styrofoam cooler with a cold pack, and is supposed to be sent overnight delivery, but more often times than naught, I have to call and get them to send more because it came too hot to use safely. I would recommend calling the mail order company and see how they plan on sending the insulin to you, and then make your requests as needed. Good luck!
So if you return insulin, how long do you wait to get another vial? This is the craziness that I would really like to avoid. I have never done mail order before, and I would not choose it if I were to be given another option.
I also having been receiving 90 day insulin order, ships in a styofoam cooler with ice packs works in all weather can't beat my insurance costs $5.00 per 90 day order its a stick in the belly lol happy pumping to whomever.
We get our from ExpressScripts.. it come in an styrofoam cooler with ice packs and is shipped overnight. We get three month supply and have had no problems.
Hi Marypat,
I have used mail order pharmacies for all of my insulin for over ten yrs. now in two different states, obtained via 3 different mail order pharmacy companies due to moving to different state and/or changes in insurance providers. I am happy to say I have never had any problems with the temperature being an issue nor the strength of the insulin. T
his is while living in either Michigan or Ohio. I love the convenience of ordering it on-line or via phone and then it arrives within 2 days of placing an order and is packed with cold pacs, etc. I think much of this, like so many other things, depends on who the company is. I agree with the suggestion that you should call the mail order pharmacy and just ask them all the questions you have so you are more comfortable with this. It does save you money and time for sure! Just my opinions from my experiences... ...Donna
Same here...ours used to be through Medco but now Medco and Express Scripts merged and it is called just Express Scripts....still no issues.
Thanks everyone. I will call the company after April 1 and ask for details. It is really great to have the TuDiabetes community to rely on for info about your experiences.
Yep, I use mail order too. Not my favorite but no other choice. My suggestion is to call early and try to speak to the same person. I’ve had to call four times for my test strips only to find out I need to call me doctor for an authorization. Which makes no sense because they have the script. Not as friendly or as convenient as a retail pharmacy but you can save a lot of money!
I can get mine local now, but for years I used to use mail order. I did my refills as soon as it was valid to do so, in the cooler months. So for example, if my first order was Sept, I could order in Nov, Feb and May and avoid delivery in the hottest months. But some pharmacies are more strict on when the refill can be done.
My shipments usually came with cold packs, but not always. But never had a problem with bad insulin.
I've had mostly OK experiences, when they get my address right. Unless they are overnighting it I would be worried, next day it generally gets there quick enough to still be cold.
My insurance company usually overnights it and then I return (or throw out, if so instructed) the bad insulin when they send me a return mailer.
Been getting insulin as long as mail order has been around. I have had one bad shipment. Insulin is shipped in cool packs that have ice. Just can’t let it sit in the sun for hours. I would not worry.