medication and medical emergencys

[bayleightucker]

Our last trip was cut short. while camping with my in laws aged 86, my father in law suffered a stroke. Thank goodness it was not severe and all is well on that front, but we had an interesting issue arise. While in the hospital my father in law was not allowed to take his medication (7 pills daily) because it was not in the original bottle, it was in one of those weekly pill boxes we all use. So for 3 days of meds that he already had but could not use, the hospital has charged him 427 dollars. This is California, and all states may not be as critical, but it mat be wise for those of us who use meds daily, to have the original containers while traveling. A final word, those camped around us rallied to assist us during our crises, watched over our tt and our two dogs for over 12 hours until we could return and pack up. Further proof that the vast majority of rv ers are quality people, who will lend a hand when needed, and ask nothing in return. We offered to pay for the campsites of those who assisted us and were told, no thank you, you would have done the same for us.....yes I would have.....happy camping!

[Crabman]

Interesting point about the meds, never thought of that. And charging him 427 bucks for a few pills proves an old point that you don`t need a gun to be a thief! Ouch! Glad to hear your fellow campers took care of you and your FIL is OK.

[tinlizzie23]

Just FYI, as a former Army medic and then civilian medical lab technician, the reason they would not let him take pills out of a multi-day container is that, especially in an emergency situation, there is no time to look up the photo of an unlabeled pill in the PDR (physician's desk reference) to make sure it is what the patient says it is. There is too much risk of taking the wrong pill involved. Therefore, to be on the safe side, you are allowed only what is clearly identified. Some hospitals will not even allow properly labeled meds to be brought in by patients, to protect themselves from lawsuits in case something goes wrong.

I agree that $427 is way over kill, but unfortunately you are a captive audience while an inpatient, so they can charge you whatever they want. When I had angioplasty some 16 years ago, I can never forget that they charged me $60 per pill in the hosp for the same ones that cost 5 cents each OTC at the pharmacy after I was discharged.

But life goes on . . . . . .

[Diesel Donnie]

Originally Posted by bayleightucker

Our last trip was cut short. while camping with my in laws aged 86, my father in law suffered a stroke. Thank goodness it was not severe and all is well on that front, but we had an interesting issue arise. While in the hospital my father in law was not allowed to take his medication (7 pills daily) because it was not in the original bottle, it was in one of those weekly pill boxes we all use. So for 3 days of meds that he already had but could not use, the hospital has charged him 427 dollars. This is California, and all states may not be as critical, but it mat be wise for those of us who use meds daily, to have the original containers while traveling. A final word, those camped around us rallied to assist us during our crises, watched over our tt and our two dogs for over 12 hours until we could return and pack up. Further proof that the vast majority of rv ers are quality people, who will lend a hand when needed, and ask nothing in return. We offered to pay for the campsites of those who assisted us and were told, no thank you, you would have done the same for us.....yes I would have.....happy camping!

Just goes to show what a great group of people we campers are- JMHO- DD