by PharmacyChecker.com | Jan 11, 2012 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies
Today we’d like to feature content from our ally RxRights.org, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting access to safe and affordable personal drug importation through verified online pharmacies:
Lee Graczyk, RxRights lead organizer, felt compelled to respond to a recent Washington Post editorial about the problem of Internet piracy and the legislation that has been crafted to address it. Though we have not had much luck getting the Post to publish Lee’s responses in the past, he
continues to try, and wanted to share his latest effort.
The Post editorial board was on target in stating that the Stop Online Piracy Act’s (SOPA) definition of a rogue site is dangerously overbroad and could threaten legitimate Web sites [“A fair block on Internet piracy” editorial, Jan. 3.] Its explanation, however, could go further to discuss the implications SOPA would have on Americans who import their medications from legitimate pharmacies.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans–90,000 people in Florida alone–rely on ordering vital prescription medications from safe, licensed Canadian and other international pharmacies, mostly due to the exorbitant costs of prescription drugs in the U.S. If passed, SOPA would take away Americans’ access to these pharmacies. This is because the bill inappropriately groups together real pharmacies–licensed, legitimate pharmacies that require a doctor’s prescription and sell brand-name medications–and the rogues that sell everything from diluted or counterfeit medicine to narcotics without a prescription.
As legislators continue to move forward with SOPA, as well as its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act, they should recognize this is not only an Internet infrastructure and security matter, but also a grave health concern.
This article can also be found on RxRights.org. PharmacyChecker.com is an RxRights coalition member.
Tagged with: Canada, Internet, PROTECT IP Act, rogue pharmacies, Rx Rights coalition, RxRights, SOPA, Stop Online Pri, United States, Washington Post
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jan 10, 2012 | Advocacy
While PharmacyChecker.com’s main focus is on safe and affordable prescription medication, we are aware that many of our website visitors also take over-the-counter (OTC) products. It’s important to bring to their attention safety issues with OTC products, as we have done in the past. We want to point out that some popular OTC medicines in the United States are being recalled due to potentially serious manufacturing flaws, as reported by the FDA and featured on MSNBC.com.
OTC meds manufactured at Novartis Consumer Health Inc. in its Lincoln, Nebraska plant may have been mixed with dangerous painkiller medication, such as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone. While the mixture dose is said to be minimal, Novartis Health is voluntarily recalling some select bottle sizes of Excedrin, No Doz, Bufferin and Gas-x Prevention since there may be some stray tablets or capsules and/or could contain broken or chipped tablets.
If you have these medications, be sure to check the manufactured date and location properly, and take a look inside the bottle itself too, before taking them. The medicine may need to be discarded or returned to the manufacturer for a refund. See below for details from the manufacturer.
Note from Novartis-OTC.com: Novartis Consumer Health (NCH) is voluntarily recalling all lots of select bottle sizes of Excedrin® and NoDoz® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2014 or earlier as well as Bufferin® and Gas-X® Prevention® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2013 or earlier, in the United States.
Tagged with: Bufferin, Endocet, Excederin, FDA, Gas-x Prevention, MSNBC.com, No Doz, Novartis Consumer Health, Opana, OTC, Percocet, prescriptions, recall, Zydone
by PharmacyChecker.com | Dec 7, 2011 | Medicare Drug Plans
Today is the last day for the Medicare Part D open enrollment period. For most Medicare enrollees, those who do not have a plan by midnight tonight will face a penalty charge, which will be added to future Part D monthly premium payments.
The Medicare drug plans have certainly frustrated many seniors, who’s experiences can be found in the ratings and reviews on www.MedicareDrugPlans.com. Some of the most frequent problems with plans communicated by seniors are drugs being dropped by plan formularies mid-year; information on drug coverage was not initially made clear; co-pays were higher than expected; and customer service was often inadequate.
On the other hand, some seniors were completely satisfied with their plans. The bottom line is that you need to pick a plan now or you will pay more later.
Sharing her optimism for Medicare Part D benefits, and the discounts provided under the Affordable Healthcare Act, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius commented on Medicare.gov’s official blog: “Through the end of October, 2.65 million people with Medicare have received discounts on brand name drugs in the donut hole. These discounts have saved seniors and people with disabilities a total of $1.5 billion on prescriptions – averaging about $569 per person.”
If you’ve yet to choose your plan, you can easily compare reviews on MedicareDrugPlans.com before making the final decision. If you want to share your experiences with others then please rate your plan.
Tagged with: Affordable Healthcare Act, co-pays, customer service, discounts, donut hole, formulary, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, Medicare.gov, medicaredrugplans.com, Open Enrollment, Part D, penalty, premiums, Secretary of Health and Human Services, seniors
