Plan extra supplies of essential prescriptions with your clinician and pharmacist
Running out of an essential prescription is one of the most likely health crises when pharmacies are unreachable. Plan a buffer legally and safely with the people who prescribe and dispense it.
How
- Use the medication supply calculator to see how many days each person has on hand today.
- CDC advises keeping at least a two-week supply of prescription medicines. For a remote estate, ask your clinician whether a longer supply is safe and possible for each medicine; CDC suggests pregnant people ask about a 30-day or longer emergency refill.
- Ask the pharmacist about storage needs, shelf life after opening and how to rotate stock so the oldest is used first.
- Never stop, change or replace a prescribed medicine on your own. Do not buy prescription-only medicines without a prescription or stockpile antibiotics or other prescription drugs without a clinician.
- Keep extra non-prescription medicines in the household kit, used only as the label directs.
- Write a medicines list per person (name, what it is for, how often, supplies needed, allergies) as Ready.gov recommends, and keep copies in the health file and each grab bag.
- Long-term conditions such as diabetes, kidney failure and severe allergy need their own plan (medical-28).
Safety: This step is planning, not medical advice. Decisions about medicines, doses and treatment belong to your own clinician.
Sources
- Emergency preparedness for people with chronic conditions (infographic). US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), accessed 2026-11
- Emergency preparedness during pregnancy. CDC, accessed 2026-11
- Tips for Medications. Ready.gov (US FEMA), accessed 2026-11
- Build A Kit. Ready.gov (US FEMA), accessed 2026-11
- Emergency Kit Checklist: Pregnant Women, Infants, and Children. CDC, accessed 2026-11