Can my doctor refuse my request?

Apr 18, 2012

I am concerned about losing my place in the ADAP program, due to budget cuts. If this happens, I will have no other recourse than to try and get my prescriptions from a Canadian online pharmacy. My question is this: Can my doctor refuse writing and/or sending a prescription to an online Canadian pharmacy? If I tell him I will be ordering online, can he lawfully deny my request for written perscriptions, knowing that I am buying them from a Canadian pharmacy?

Response from Dr. Young

Hello and thanks for posting.

First, if you're concerned about your ADAP eligibility, the best thing to do is to work proactively to make sure that all of your paperwork is up to date and completed prior to any due dates. At our program (Rocky Mountain CARES in Denver), we have trained medical case managers who help clients navigate this process. Depending on which US state you live in, there may or may not be significant issues with wait lists, but for the most part, it's rare for people to loose their medications and be placed on the wait list. The real problem is for people who have not yet started on medications, or for non-ARV medications.

I find that most experienced HIV physicians don't have any problem with their patients going off shore to find their medications; though I can't say that there's any laws that affect the doctor-patient relationship on this matter. Hopefully this won't become an issue for you.

Be well, BY