But I’ve seen patients try to get out of this. They’ll wait until the last possible moment, then send an email saying “I am out of my life-saving medication, you must refill now!” If I send a message saying we should have an appointment on the books before I fill it, they’ll pretend they didn’t see that and just resend “I need my life-saving medication now!”
Insulin is different from the sorts of drugs you prescribe. Most medications, if someone run out, they start suffering health consequences, it’s very unpleasant and it incurs a bit of lasting harm, but they don’t die. Being without access to insulin is about as serious as being without access to water. If you send a message saying there should be an appointment on the books before renewing the prescription, then there’s a real risk that the delay causes them an emergency room visit, or kills them.
Insulin is different from the sorts of drugs you prescribe. Most medications, if someone run out, they start suffering health consequences, it’s very unpleasant and it incurs a bit of lasting harm, but they don’t die. Being without access to insulin is about as serious as being without access to water. If you send a message saying there should be an appointment on the books before renewing the prescription, then there’s a real risk that the delay causes them an emergency room visit, or kills them.