by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 23, 2012 | Advocacy, Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, Personal Drug Importation
The main Op-Ed article in today’s New York Times, “The Wrong Way to Stop Fake Drugs,” calls for the legalization of personal drug importation from credentialed international online pharmacies, such as those approved in the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program. Authored by Roger Bate, a resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute, the central message of the piece is that the technical ban on personal drug importation does not help the fight against counterfeit drugs but does discourage Americans from getting needed medication. We couldn’t agree more.
Dr. Bate offers evidence-based and compassionate approaches to help uninsured/underinsured Americans obtain medication at affordable prices and reduce the threat of counterfeit medication domestically and abroad. For more on this story see today’s press release
For the past year, Americans who buy medication from international online pharmacies have engaged through RxRights.org to help stop government actions that could block their online access to safe and affordable medication. Taking the cue from this latest op-ed, Americans should start asking their leaders to pass legislation directing the FDA to provide accurate information about online pharmacies. At the very least, the FDA should cease its categorical warning against all international online pharmacies for the simple reason that some are very safe and can help more Americans afford needed medications.
We looked at the top five brand name drugs by sales today to highlight the incredible price discrepancies between US pharmacy and international online pharmacy prices.
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, international pharmacies, New York Times, Online Pharmacies, prescription drug importation, prescription legislation, Roger Bate
by PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 30, 2012 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that pharmacies approved in the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program sell safe medication and can help Americans achieve substantial savings. By filling 370 prescriptions through 41 online pharmacies and testing the authenticity of the medications received, independent researchers from the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. found no test failures among online pharmacies verified by third-party verifiers, such as PharmacyChecker.com.
Since all online pharmacies approved by PharmacyChecker.com – whether American or foreign – are licensed, require a prescription, and meet high standards of online pharmacy safety, the results of this study are not the least bit surprising. Past studies have shown the exact same results. Still, the FDA ignores the facts and continues a consumer education policy recommending that Americans completely avoid non-US online pharmacies. We believe the FDA’s policy is unethical and unfair. More importantly, its policy is bad for the public health because less access to affordable prescription drugs means fewer Americans will procure needed medications.
For more on this study see our news release.
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, Drug Prices, international pharmacies, Online Pharmacies, pharmacychecker.com
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Nov 16, 2011 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies
The “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA), currently before Congress, threatens online access to safe and affordable medication through reputable international online pharmacies. A CBS-Fort Myers report gives a human face to this issue by highlighting a Floridian senior, Mary Miller, who is able to afford her medication only because of a Canadian online pharmacy. If SOPA passes, Ms. Miller may lose access to that Canadian online pharmacy. The CBS report features RxRights.org as the lead organization helping Americans rally to contact their elected officials to oppose SOPA.
Stopping rogue sites in many areas, such as those sites that steal and re-sell copyrighted movies and music, sell knockoffs of designer handbags and clothes, and especially those that sell dangerous or fake medication is the right idea. But a bill that could takedown many websites that are exercising the rights of free speech, publishing music and movies legally, and especially websites selling safe and affordable medication, is a bill that should be abandoned post-haste.
RxRights.org should be loudly applauded for its work on behalf of Americans who are struggling to afford medication by educating Americans about SOPA and how it could block access to affordable prescription medication.
Tagged with: affordability, Canada, Canadian pharmacies, CBS, Congress, copyright, Florida, Online Pharmacies, rogue sites, RxRights.org, safety, SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act
