Millions of Americans receive drugs by mail. But are they safe? - NBC News

 According to the article:

"Millions of Americans receive their medications by mail but many, like Becker, find themselves forced to do so by their insurance plans or face the prospect of paying exorbitant amounts for the same drugs. 

An NBC News investigation found the growth of mail-order pharmacies has caused many people to feel trapped in a system that has left them with crushed pills, damaged vials and lifesaving drugs exposed to extreme weather.  ...

Interviews with more than 65 mail-order pharmacy customers across the nation revealed deep worries over how their medication is delivered — and no affordable alternatives. Many reported receiving drugs in flimsy packaging without temperature indicators, which can cost as little as a dollar per package. Others have had to plead with pharmacies to send them replacement drugs after receiving medication they thought arrived too warm or cold."

Read the full source article:  Millions of Americans receive drugs by mail. But are they safe? - NBC News

Prescription deliveries: Health care providers urge patients to be proactive as COVID pandemic, USPS troubles cause delays - USA Today

 According to the news article:

"But as a surge in deliveries strain the postal system and the Trump Administration opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, some patients report delays in receiving their medications.

An Ipsos poll found one in five Americans got medication through the mail in the past week, and one in four of them – or 5% of all Americans – experienced a delay or non-delivery."

Read the full source news article:  Prescription deliveries: Health care providers urge patients to be proactive as COVID pandemic, USPS troubles cause delays - USA Today

Pick the wrong Medicare drug plan and the cost will shock you - CNBC

Read the full article:   Pick the wrong Medicare drug plan and the cost will shock you - CNBC:

"As prescription drug prices continue their upward climb, Medicare beneficiaries should pay close attention to the coverage they choose during open enrollment." ...  "Either way, experts say that while you should ensure that any medications you take are covered, don't stop your search at the first choice meeting that basic minimum."

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How to save on prescription drugs - marinij.com

Follow this link to some great suggestions:  How to save on prescription drugs - marinij.com:

"For more ways to save money on your next prescription, remember:" . . .

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Drug Firms Use Tor to Shop for Dark Web Fakes - Bloomberg Business

Read the full article: Big Pharma's Darknet Drug Deal - An Ex-Detective Is Tracking Down Knock-Offs To Counter A Dangerous Trade -  Drug Firms Use Tor to Shop for Dark Web Fakes - Bloomberg Business:

"For the $300 billion pharmaceutical industry, the rapid growth of such marketplaces is a serious threat to profits and reputations. For regular folks who turn to the darknet because they’re uninsured or their coverage won’t pay for expensive medications, the choice can be lethal. Counterfeit drugs bought online have been shown to include everything from gypsum and rat poison to heavy metals and household cleaners."

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Health Canada: We do not enforce the law when Canadians poison Americans - Searching for Safety

Read the full article: Health Canada: We do not enforce the law when Canadians poison Americans - Searching for Safety:

"Simply put, Health Canada admits that it does not intend to enforce the law on Canadian internet pharmacies that sell to foreigners.  We suspected this was the excuse, but now it’s official. As Health Canada’s response says:

Health Canada prioritizes its work according to the risk to health that the incident may pose to Canadians. Incidents that present a potentially higher risk to health will be actioned first. Incidents of low or nominal risk will be assessed and entered into our tracking system for possible future compliance action as deemed appropriate."

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Radiation Risk - To Potassium Iodide or Not - KI

Image via Wikipedia

Updated May 29, 2024

Call me paranoid. Many years ago, I bought a bunch of KI (potassium iodide) for our household. We live in earthquake country, the San Francisco bay area, and there are certainly nuclear plants in CA.

If you're thinking about taking KI, you'll want to read up on it first:  Potassium Iodide (KI) - CDC.gov

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The FDA And Cold Meds For Children (video)

Updated May 24, 2025

The video link broke.

You can still read the story, in text, here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-rejects-ban-child-cold-medicines-flna1c9444259

---  the original post follows below  ===

The FDA stance is interesting. Instead of banning kids' cold medicines, they've chosen the "lesser of two evils" position. That is, the FDA fears that if they ban cold meds for kids (which are believed to be ineffective), parents will give adult-strength cold meds to children making the whole situation worse.

Check out this MSNBC news video to get the quick story about this, "FDA Rejects Ban On Kids' Cold Meds. "

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Drug Identifier - Put one on your PC

Updated August 22, 2026

The availability of free drug information on the internet is astounding.

Drugs.com Pill Identifier:  According to a Google search, this is one of the most comprehensive databases available. You can search by imprint code (letters/numbers on the pill), shape, and color to see photos and get detailed medication information.

---  the original post follows below  ---

Put this on your PC. It's software that can help you identify prescription drugs lying around, whatever the reason, your pills, a friend's, maybe your children's medication . . .

1. 2008 Drug Identifier: Published by Facts & Comparisons (Drug Identifier (CD-ROM))
2. Drug Identifier 2009 (Drug Identifier (CD-ROM))

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Parents, Get A Clue About Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse

This just in. It seems that parents are clueless when it comes to their teenagers’ behavior, which contributes to their drug and alcohol abuse. This LA Times article reports the findings of a survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, "Problem parents contribute to teen drug use." The report singles out parents for contributing to drug and alcohol use among kids ages 12 to 17. It states that some parents fail to monitor their children's activities, do not safeguard medications at home that can be used for abuse, and do not set good examples for their kids.

According to the survey:

1. It is easier for teenagers to obtain prescription drugs than beer
2. 42% of teenagers said they can buy marijuana in one day or less
3. 1/4th of teenagers said they know a parent of a classmate or a friend who uses marijuana
4. Of the teenagers surveyed who do drink, almost 30% said their drink of choice was hard liquor mixed with soda or something sweet and 16% said they preferred beer

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11 Percent Cut Back On Prescription Drugs Or Dosage

This isn't a good sign. The NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) reports that 11% say that they cut back on drugs, or on dosages. More specifically, they cut back on the number of prescription drugs they take, or the dosage of those medications to make the prescription last longer. Read the more detailed NAIC news release, "Weakening U.S. Economy Takes Toll On Americans' Health."

This isn't good at all for a couple of reasons. First the prescriber might mistakenly think that the patient is taking a different dose, and makes it really hard to monitor and adjust the dose for the desired effect. Second, taking too much or too little of a medication can put your health at risk. Third, dropping a medication without telling your prescriber can result in a health problem going untreated, and could affect the proper dosing of the other drugs still being taken.

Previous posts on how to save money on prescription drugs:

1. The Health, Drug, Prescription, and GMP Supersite: Save on Prescription Drugs (video)
2. The Health, Drug, Prescription, and GMP Supersite: 8 Tips - Save Money on Prescription Drugs

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Save on Prescription Drugs (video)

Nice quick set of tips on how to save on prescription drugs, in this Kiplinger video, "Save on Prescription Drugs." . . .



Previous posts:
The Health, Drug, Prescription, and GMP Supersite: 8 Tips - Save Money on Prescription Drugs

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Another Free Pill Identifier - for your smart phone or PDA

A lot of folks are interested in free drug pill identifiers. I just learned about this free software from Epocrates, "Epocrates Rx." I'm not an Epocrates user, and I haven't personally downloaded or used this software. From what I can tell, you can register for a free account, and then download the free "Rx" software.

The free software is designed for use with smart phones and PDAs. What's neat is that the software provides:

1. Pill ID <-- capsules="" drugs="" feature="" identify="" li="" pills="" tablets="" this="" to="" use="">
2. Drug Information
3. Drug Interactions
4. Formulary Information
5. Free Updates

Previous posts on pill identifiers:
The Health, Drug, Prescription, and GMP Supersite: Identify Those Drugs - Handy Pill Identifier

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Big Brother Is Watching Your Prescription Data

Call it doing business, or be very, very scared. I ran across this Business News Blog post, "Prescription Data Used To Assess Consumers." There's a whole big industry growing that is collecting your prescription records in databases. We all need to monitor this very closely, because although this industry might contribute to better healthcare and savings, the flipside is there are possibly some real concerns about privacy that are outside the umbrella of regulators and lawmakers.

The discussion strikes a chord with me. As with so many things like this, it's possible for errors and incomplete information to get captured in databases. Although well-intentioned, a combination of many circumstances can lead to possible mis-interpretation, and just plain bad unjustifiable decisions and outcomes adversely affecting many consumers. Let's all hope for the best, and be sure to follow this closely.

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Pets Taking Human Prescription Drugs (video)

Updated May 2, 2023

You might also be interested in:

U.S. Veterinarians report steady increase in pets ingesting cannabis - CBS News

- - -

Updated 12/9/2022

Sorry. The original link broke.

You might also be interested in:

TOP 10 HUMAN MEDICATIONS POISONOUS TO PETS - Pet Poison Helpline

What did your pet ingest? - Pet Poison Helpline

---  the original post follows below  ---

This is an interesting MSNBC news video about our pets taking prescription drugs for people (humans), "Are you taking same drugs as your pet?"

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