Prescription Meds

[DirtyDawg]

A lot of talk about international travel going on... BUT keep in mind a lot of STATE law requires prescription drugs to be stored in their original containers. If a person is caught with prescription drugs in ANYTHING other than their original container, they could be arrested. In NY, for example, you could be arrested for Criminal possession of a controlled substance. Just a heads up....

 

Thanks for the heads up. I travel from Canada to NY a lot for business and pleasure and frankly never even thought about taking the original containers. Hey, we learn something new everyday!

[BrentD]

Assuming that the security employees were not law enforcement officers, I would have told them it was none of their business. If they want to get DEA or local law involved, that's up to them but in the meantime as they are not your doctor, they have no legal right to ask you what the medication is for. Not sure but that may even be a HIPAA violation.

 

It's the same thing with the TSA at the airport. If you take a bottle of water through security because you have a medical condition, they cannot ask you what the condition is. Well, I suppose they can ask but they are not supposed to and you have no obligation to answer. Their job is simply to test the bottle and as long as it passes give it back to you and send you on your way.

There is no HIPAA violation for asking you what it's for or what condition you have. HIPAA disallows anyone from sharing your personally identifiable health information, but doesn't prevent anyone from asking. It's your personal choice whether or not you share the info with them, though.

 

However, HIPAA also has exceptions where medical institutions CAN disclose your personal health information as it pertains to law enforcement.

Edited August 28, 2014 by BrentD

[Hikini]

My parents are elderly (read: have several prescriptions) and they always just take their medi sets on the cruise, so they are already counted out for each day. They have never had a cruise line or an airline even question what the pills are for or why they are not in their originial containers.

 

I take one prescription drug and just put the trips worth of pills in a tiny 2X3 inch zip loc, and I myself have never been stopped or asked, even when having my bag randomly searched.

 

But the only way to take them with you is in your purse or carry on. I would never leave them in my check in bag, just in case the worst thing would happen and your luggage was lost.

[Proseknitic]

Going through this thread has been an interesting read. Would suggest that one consider two important points when packing medications (and supplements) for a trip

1) what are the laws that will affect me?

2) (and much more important IMHO) is how can I best protect my health?

 

Point 1 - Custom inspectors abide by the laws of their country and don't care what you give them for an excuse. A lot of pills look the same - if there is any question about your pills/liquids (especially not in the original containers) they can take them away. Period. Full stop. In the US, it is scheduled drugs (I-IV) that are the issue. TSA will have an issue with any liquid that is not in the original pharmacy packaging.

 

Point 2 - Your Health

All of us health professionals do understand the issue of 90 day scripts. Also the issue of being elderly and having someone set up a pill container so that it is easy to comply with a medical regime.

 

Part of being responsible for one's own health is ensuring that medical problems while traveling are unlikely to happen (take enough meds + extra, be stable prior to traveling, comply with immunizations and needed protections); being prepared in case something does go wrong (evacuation insurance, critical medical information easily accessible to include chemical/generic names for all meds and dosing if the meds aren't in original containers and on your person).

 

Summary:

 

you don't want to be the guy on my trek across Alaska 2 years ago who "forgot" his insulin and was stunned to find out that there isn't a doc/NP/PA or pharmacy in Denali. He had to go back (by helicopter) to Anchorage....

 

Comply with the laws - smart, safest, decreases challenges in foreign countries

Protect your health - don't check anything you can't live without. That means your meds....

 

-Holly

who will happily climb back down off her soapbox and go back to doing more CME and finishing up the latest series of "Cruising Safely - Staying Healthy" lectures....

[CPT Trips]

Just a thought . . . if police/customs officers can't tell by looking what your pills are how will they know that the pills in the bottle labeled "xx" are, in fact "xx?"

[njhorseman]

Just a thought . . . if police/customs officers can't tell by looking what your pills are how will they know that the pills in the bottle labeled "xx" are, in fact "xx?"

 

That's very simple . All tablets, pills or capsules are coded with numbers/letters that uniquely identify the manufacturer and medication name. Just enter that code on any internet search engine and it will tell you what medication you have. In addition the labels on prescription bottles normally have that same code as well as a physical description of the medication (for example peach colored round tablet, coded XXX-1234 on one side). In the past, before that information was available on line it could be looked up in a huge encyclopedia-like book called the Physician's Desk Reference.

Edited August 28, 2014 by njhorseman

[Demonyte]

My parents are elderly (read: have several prescriptions) and they always just take their medi sets on the cruise, so they are already counted out for each day. They have never had a cruise line or an airline even question what the pills are for or why they are not in their originial containers.

 

 

First, it's not cruise line or airline asking questions, it's law enforcement agencies like police or CBP. Secondly while your parents may have not been caught for inspection (yet!), it doesn't mean that what they do would be any more allowed.

 

Once when disembarking in Miami we got separated from our travel companions around the customs, they were nowhere to be seen and they weren't answering their phones etc. When we finally met them at least 20 minutes later outside the terminal, they told that they had been taken aside for inspection and questioning - the wife is a RN and in her medicine bag has a lot of sample sized OTC (and some not so OTC - even here in Finland) medications that the pharma reps at her work place hand out.

 

They got away with all the pills and without any consequences after lengthy questioning, but the officers were very strict about giving them instructions of always having only medications in their original packaging and at least proper prescription labels for all non-OTC medications.

[CPT Trips]

That's very simple . All tablets, pills or capsules are coded with numbers/letters that uniquely identify the manufacturer and medication name. Just enter that code on any internet search engine and it will tell you what medication you have. In addition the labels on prescription bottles normally have that same code as well as a physical description of the medication (for example peach colored round tablet, coded XXX-1234 on one side). In the past, before that information was available on line it could be looked up in a huge encyclopedia-like book called the Physician's Desk Reference.

 

Ding, ding, ding, a winner. Exactly what will happen if the pills are in a " pill box" if the authorities suspect you. BTW, neither my major mail order pharmacy nor my retail pharmacy print all that identifying stuff on the label. It's on a separate sheet enclosed with my order.

Edited August 29, 2014 by CPT Trips

[RDC1]

Going through this thread has been an interesting read. Would suggest that one consider two important points when packing medications (and supplements) for a trip

1) what are the laws that will affect me?

2) (and much more important IMHO) is how can I best protect my health?

 

Point 1 - Custom inspectors abide by the laws of their country and don't care what you give them for an excuse. A lot of pills look the same - if there is any question about your pills/liquids (especially not in the original containers) they can take them away. Period. Full stop. In the US, it is scheduled drugs (I-IV) that are the issue. TSA will have an issue with any liquid that is not in the original pharmacy packaging.

 

Point 2 - Your Health

All of us health professionals do understand the issue of 90 day scripts. Also the issue of being elderly and having someone set up a pill container so that it is easy to comply with a medical regime.

 

Part of being responsible for one's own health is ensuring that medical problems while traveling are unlikely to happen (take enough meds + extra, be stable prior to traveling, comply with immunizations and needed protections); being prepared in case something does go wrong (evacuation insurance, critical medical information easily accessible to include chemical/generic names for all meds and dosing if the meds aren't in original containers and on your person).

 

Summary:

 

you don't want to be the guy on my trek across Alaska 2 years ago who "forgot" his insulin and was stunned to find out that there isn't a doc/NP/PA or pharmacy in Denali. He had to go back (by helicopter) to Anchorage....

 

Comply with the laws - smart, safest, decreases challenges in foreign countries

Protect your health - don't check anything you can't live without. That means your meds....

 

-Holly

who will happily climb back down off her soapbox and go back to doing more CME and finishing up the latest series of "Cruising Safely - Staying Healthy" lectures....

 

One other reason for carrying sufficient meds for your entire trip. The amount of fake drugs being sold in third world countries is huge. The counterfeits are very very difficult to tell from the real thing, and might contain just about anything (except the real drug). Pretty safe in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. Not so safe in most of the rest of the world.

[RDC1]

Ding, ding, ding, a winner. Exactly what will happen if the pills are in a " pill box" if the authorities suspect you. BTW, neither my major mail order pharmacy nor my retail pharmacy print all that identifying stuff on the label. It's on a separate sheet enclosed with my order.

 

What will happen depends, upon the country, the actual drugs, the particular officer you are dealing with and if there is any special enforcement actions taking place. If you are carrying prescription drugs that are known for abuse such as narcotics or steroids you are probably more likely to have issues. Also the quantity is an issue. Just a couple of pills in a pill box will be less of an issue then a 60 day supply.

 

A lot depends upon the country. A friend of mine got inspected when entering Japan and happened to have a package of Sudafed (OTC). He did not realize that Sudafed was not legal in Japan. Since it was just part of an open package, they just confiscated it after giving him a lecture about how it was not legal in Japan.

 

Part of what you run into in many countries is that they have fairly small limits before you have to pay import duties. Japan for example allows only 30 day supply to be brought into the country duty free

 

The following paragraph is from the US Embassy web site in Japan

 

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-medimport.html

 

"Some U.S. prescription medications cannot be imported into Japan, even when accompanied by a customs declaration and a copy of the prescription. Japanese customs officials have detained travelers carrying prohibited items, sometimes for several weeks. Japanese customs officials do not make on-the-spot "humanitarian" exceptions for medicines that are prohibited in Japan. "

 

So you really need to check for the particular countries you are traveling to.

Edited August 29, 2014 by RDC1