by PharmacyChecker.com | May 8, 2015 | Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
Americans and others living in America used to see advertisements on Google for low-cost and safe international online pharmacies but now they don’t. That’s because, back in 2010, Google banned all non-U.S. online pharmacies, safe or otherwise, from its advertising platform that targets the United States and its people, a demographic urgently in need of lower drug prices! Why would they do that? Who does that benefit? Who does it hurt?
This week, in our continuing quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing the next section of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health…
(more…)
Tagged with: GAO, Google, non-prosecution agreement, Roger Bate, search engines
by PharmacyChecker.com | May 1, 2015 | Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
Is it legal to order medications online? Yes. If you live in the U.S., you can legally order medications online for mail order, such as from Walgreens or CVS. Is it legal to order medications from an online pharmacy located in a foreign country – to personally import it? Technically, no; but people who import small quantities of prescription medication for their own use, according to the FDA, are not prosecuted for doing so. There are a lot of nuances and quirky details when it comes to laws and regulations that apply to online pharmacies. Some laws are there to protect your health and safety; others seem more bent on protecting the profits of big drug companies – and there’s a lot in between. It’s complicated.
So this week, in our continuing quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing the next section of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health…
(more…)
Tagged with: Drug and Cosmetic Act, FDA, FDCA, food, GAO, Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program, legal, NABP, Online Pharmacies, personal drug importation, Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, VIPPS
by PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 24, 2015 | Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
25%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%?
A few years back, the FDA published the results of a survey from 2012 that showed 23% of Internet users purchase medication online. That number has been used by a variety of groups funded by pharmaceutical companies and U.S. pharmacy corporations, and apparently the Government Accountability Office, to imply that a quarter of the U.S. population is buying medication from dangerous rogue online pharmacy sites. The number is probably lower than 2%, which is still too high but it’s important that the public and our elected leaders face and tackle the online pharmacy problems that really exist, not fake ones that distort public perception and serve entrenched business interests…and lead to fewer Americans getting medicines they need.
This week, in our continuing quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing the next section of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health…
(more…)
Tagged with: Drugfree.org, FDA, Government Accountability Office, LegitScript, NABP, pharmacychecker.com, RxRights.org
by PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 9, 2015 | Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
Americans have been ordering medication over the Internet from foreign pharmacies for about 15 years. How many reported deaths or serious adverse reactions would you guess have been associated with purchases from international online pharmacies that require a prescription? Zero. Sadly, rogue online pharmacies, domestic and foreign, have contributed to injury and even death.
This week, in our continuing quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing the next section of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health… (more…)
Tagged with: ASOP, chinese, compounding pharmacies, heparin, NABP, NACDS, patient harm
by PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 2, 2015 | Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
Continuing our quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing a section a week of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health. Our report refutes a flawed GAO report about Internet pharmacies.
This week we look at the evidence that proves that illegal personal drug importation is not inherently unsafe. First of all, when Americans buy medication from a licensed pharmacy in Canada, India, Turkey, or the UK, the pharmacy itself is legal in those countries: after all its licensed. Unfortunately, it’s technically illegal under most circumstances for a consumer to import meds for their own use from those pharmacies. It’s very common for groups funded by big drug companies to confuse consumers and even lawmakers that this illegality means the practice is inherently not safe, but that’s not true…
Illegal Doesn’t Mean Unsafe
The GAO report misconstrues safety and legality in its analysis of Internet pharmacies. The report states: “By violating federal and state laws, rogue Internet pharmacies threaten the public health.” For about fifteen years, often in violation of federal and state laws, millions of Americans have safely imported medication ordered online, pursuant to a valid prescription for their own use. As evidenced throughout this report, it’s not the violation of federal or state laws that threaten the public health but the actions of rogue pharmacy operators who sell fake or otherwise dangerous medication, or real medication without requiring a prescription.
The facts about personal drug importation are as follows: 1) Through orders placed online, tens of millions of Americans have imported medication from licensed pharmacies that require a prescription over the past 15 years with no reported deaths or serious adverse effects; 2) the practice is technically illegal under most circumstances; 3) there is no evidence that shows personal drug importation of non-controlled medication where a prescription is required is inherently unsafe; 4) according to the FDA, no one has ever been prosecuted for importing small quantities of prescription drugs for personal use.1
If an American receives a drug ordered online that was dispensed and mailed properly from a licensed pharmacy, it makes no difference from a safety perspective whether the product came from a U.S. or foreign licensed pharmacy, as long as the drug has the right amount of the active ingredient, treats the condition as intended, and is administered in the manner intended by the physician who prescribed the drug. Like those sold in U.S. pharmacies, medications ordered from credentialed international online pharmacies are produced in factories employing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and are distributed, stored, dispensed, and mailed properly. The drugs are the same as or foreign versions of those sold in U.S. pharmacies.
1“Should You Use an Overseas Pharmacy,” MoneyTalksNews.com, 2/1/2013. An email written by Christopher Kelly, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA, states: “FDA is not aware of any actions taken against an individual resulting from their purchase of small quantities of unapproved drugs for personal use.” http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2013/02/01/is-it-safe-to-use-an-overseas-pharmacy/, [Last accessed 12/17/2013].
Tagged with: GAO, GMP, personal drug importation, public health, rogue online pharmacies
by PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 27, 2015 | Online Pharmacies, Pharmacychecker Online Pharmacy Report
Continuing our quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing a section a week of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health. This week we look at the reasons why Americans look online to buy medication:
High U.S. drug prices are one of the main reasons that Americans go online to buy medication. As stated previously, according to the CDC, about five million Americans buy medication internationally each year due to high domestic drug prices. The CDC’s figures and others identified below show that over the past 15 years, tens of millions of Americans have purchased medication from outside the U.S. using online pharmacies to save money or because they could not afford the prices at their local pharmacies. Fifty million Americans between the ages of 18 to 64 did not fill a prescription in 2012 due to cost, up from 29 million in 2001. The data demonstrates that Americans need international online pharmacies due to a public health crisis of high domestic drug prices.
There are other reasons Americans go online to buy medication besides cost. Online pharmacies offer convenience and anonymity. For some consumers with mobility problems or for those who live in rural locations, ordering online and receiving medication by mail can be very helpful. Others may feel embarrassed about their medical conditions, which are sometimes unintentionally disclosed at their local pharmacy counters, preferring to order privately online.
Unfortunately, some Americans go online seeking medication without first obtaining a prescription from their healthcare providers. Many such people should not be judged. Americans who are uninsured may be unable to afford the medical care necessary to get a prescription and shop from online pharmacies that do not require one. Others just don’t want the “hassle” of going to the doctor and getting a prescription. There are obvious and inherent dangers in taking certain medications without first consulting with a licensed prescriber. Additionally, online pharmacies, foreign and domestic, that do not require a prescription are more likely to sell falsified and substandard medication and not ship medication safely.
Growing numbers of insured Americans in the coming years, a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will lead to a decline in medications ordered online without a prescription. However, many newly insured will find that their prescribed medications are not covered by their plans and are too expensive to pay for out-of-pocket at a U.S. pharmacy. For some, international online pharmacies are the only route to obtaining needed medication.
Finally, some Americans looking to obtain prescription narcotics without a prescription turn to the Internet, but the prevalence of such purchases are a small part of America’s prescription abuse problem. Still, the most serious negative health consequences related to prescription drugs bought over the Internet are from controlled drugs purchased without a valid prescription. The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which largely banned online prescribing for controlled substances, was named after 18 year-old Ryan Haight who purchased prescription narcotics from an online pharmacy based in Oklahoma without a valid prescription and died from an overdose.
Tagged with: CDC, Drug Prices, narcotics, Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008
