Travel Requirements - Pharmacist Reluctance

 Travel Requirements

When patients travel with these products, certain precautions should be observed. The drugs should be stored in insulated, cool containers. This can be accomplished by using ice packs to keep the biotech drug at the proper temperature in warmer climates, whereas the insulated container in colder climates may be all that is required. When traveling in sub-freezing weather, the products should be protected from freezing (temperatures below 2LC). Keeping biotech drugs at proper temperature during auto-mobile travel may present a problem with tempera-tures inside a parked car often exceeding 37LC (100LF) on a warm day. Patients and delivery personnel must take care not to leave products that are not in insulated containers inside the car, trunk or glove compartment while shopping or making deliveries. When ice is used, care should be taken not to place the product directly on the ice. Dry ice should be avoided since it has the potential for freezing the product. When traveling by air, biotech products should be taken onto the plane in insulated packages and not placed in a cargo container. Airplane cargo containers may be cold enough to cause freezing (Banga and Reddy, 1994; Koeller and Fields, 1991).


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