Originally Posted by
Rose2455
Quote: "Please note that docs and pharmacies in the US cannot honor foreign written prescriptions but in a pinch, it's better than having nothing at all."
This is a bit of a worry - we'll have a hire car at times and there's no way we'll wander around a little town carrying all our medication (my husband has heart medication). It will be in our cases in the car. If the car gets stolen we're without medication as prescriptions can't be filled? Do we have to go to all the trouble of finding a doctor and get all new prescriptions and then get them filled at a chemist, claim all the costs on travel insurance? What a rigmarole that would be! Not that anyone will probably steal our car but I always like to go with the 'what if' factor. I suppose the prescriptions we carry will be considered documentation that we actually need the medication.
Great idea about the glasses, I'll carry notes from our optometrist but also a back up pair in the checked luggage.
Pretty much correct. By law in the US, a pharmacy will not honor a prescription request written by a foreign doctor. This is common virtually anywhere on the planet that has safeguards on their prescription med sales.
That being said, having a copy of what is prescribed will facilitate anything that needs to be prescribed here. It just would have to come off the prescription pad of a US doctor. Provided nothing fishy is going on (such as requesting oxycontin or anything that is a scheduled narcotic) then it won't be a large issue but more of a formality due to legal concerns.
I wouldn't be worried at all, even if your car is stolen, a meeting with a US Dr and a conference call/fax should fix everything.
This is why I recommend two sets of meds, one for emergencies and one for daily.