I am a member of The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. I was medically retired from the Army in 1998 with a spinal cord injury. Since then I have been taking controlled painkillers from the VA.
About a year ago the VA started to make veterans call for a new prescription every month through their primary caregiver. Every month since then I have had to jump through hoops to get my prescription. The VA uses UPS to deliver prescriptions. Last month I missed the UPS delivery twice so on the third day I opened my gate and sat eight feet from the door with my dog next to me and the UPS driver did not knock. Instead they left the delivery notice in the door and left. I called UPS and tried to get it redelivered, but they would not do it. So I called to complain that the driver didn’t knock and they said they would call me back in an hour, but they did not call back. I called two hours later and UPS said that I could pick it up at the UPS site in Mesa, Arizona. When I got there they said it was not there. So I said I would be back the next day to pick it up. The next day I went and they said that they returned it back to the VA. I finally picked up my prescription after driving forty miles and spending twenty-five minutes on the phone.
This month I called the controlled substance phone number and left my name, last four and the old prescription number on the twenty-third of the month. When I didn’t receive my medication on the thirty-first of the month, I called the VA and found out that they did not send it out. So I asked if I could get the prescriptions refilled as soon as possible. The VA phone person said that they would contact my primary care provider, who would review and resend the prescription in a few days. I said I needed it now and they said it was the best they could do. So I went to my primary care clinic and had them put in a request for a new prescription. They said it would be at the pharmacy at 7th Street and Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona by 4PM. I said I could not make it that day. I have a job and could not make it to the VA before they closed. So the next day I called the VA early in the morning and was told that they had not filled the prescription yet and to call back after 8AM. I called back after 8AM and was told that they had mailed it to my address and that it would get there in another day. I said I had gone without my prescription for two days and I needed it now. They informed me that they would have it at the pharmacy in the main VA in Phoenix by 2PM. So I called off of work to go to the VA. Finally after driving fifty miles and spending over an hour on the phone at various times, and losing a day of pay I finally got my prescription.
Why the VA can not send the prescriptions to a locked mail box through the postal service is beyond me. And why does UPS deliver only on Monday through Friday while most people are at work. I’m single and the only person that can help me is my 80 year old father who has to sit at my house and hope that the UPS deliverer is honest enough to knock. I’m a proud person and feel that the VA has failed on this. For 15 years before this I had no problem when my primary care provider could prescribe a controlled substance for 6 months at a time. And now I almost feel that they either want you to put a bullet in your head, or give up and go to the streets for illegal drugs rather than pay for your prescription.
