THIS MESSAGE APPEARED IN A RECENT "Y2K FOR WOMEN" POSTING AT KAREN ANDERSON'S SITE AND THEN REPOSTED AT SCOTT OLMSTEAD'S PREPARE 3 Y2K.

Dear Karen, As a pharmacist, I have a few hints for people who may need to get an extra amount of medication to get them through a potential shortage. I have been telling many of my customers some of these ideas which though not a way to get a large amount of medicine but at least a little extra to get them by. But they must start now. Most insurance plans only allow a 30 day supply on meds, but they usually have a 5 to 7 day "window" to get a refill early. If for the next few months, a person were to fill their Rx's approximately one week early, they could have up to 2 months extra medicine without any hassle whatsoever. Another way is to ask the prescribing physician to write less "specific" directions (as long as the patient knows exactly how to use the medicine). By less specific, I mean to use the words "as directed" rather than "take 1 tablet daily" or "1 capsule twice a day" etc. By using this phrase, it opens the Rx up to allow possible a larger quantity being billed as a 30 day supply. Also, if the medicine is not outrageously expensive (less than $100.00 per 100 units) it would probably be wise to just pay cash for the extra medicine in addition to using the above methods. This way, one could easily get at least 6 months of extra medicine. There are also, as you mentioned in your newsletter, "vacation overrides" which are usually not too difficult to obtain. Try to find a pharmacist who is friendly and willing to help you through this crisis. There are a lot of us out there. You only have to ask! Thanks for the great newsletters. I really enjoy them and have learned a tremendous amount of information.

In a situation I am familiar with, the physician wrote a prescription for a common drug for "8 times a day" instead of the usual 2 times a day, and the patient built up a year's supply (of a pill that should last that lon

-- Jean Wasp (jean@sonic.net), July 12, 1999