Egads! E-Drugs and Internet Pharmacies Face Senate Scrutiny
March 21, 2000 (Washington) -- The witness tables in wood-paneled Senate hearing rooms usually don't feature laptop computers. But Tuesday, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee entered the cyberworld, taking its first look at the rise of Internet pharmacies.
The FDA reports that it counted more than 325 web sites earlier this year involved in drug sales. And according to drugstore.com, a leading Internet pharmacy, the online prescription drug market will grow to $15 billion in 2004 from practically zero in 1998.
At their best, Internet pharmacies may offer consumers cheaper drugs and greater convenience to the "bricks and mortar" drugstores, even as they honor only appropriate prescriptions. But an array of "rogue" sites are also selling illegal therapies and drugs without proper prescriptions.
"The vast majority of the companies operating online pharmacies are not following the law," Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall said. She told the committee that fewer than two sites are legal for every 100 rogue sites.
Illegal sites -- sometimes run by physician practices -- typically rely on medical questionnaires for consumers who wish to buy prescription drugs.
FDA Commissioner Jane Henney, MD, told the panel that the agency has about 40 sites under active review and has sent warning letters to 23 domestic sellers and "cyber" letters to 13 foreign-based sites. The agency already has asked Congress for $10 million next year in special Internet enforcement money.
And the Clinton administration is close to sending proposed legislation to Congress that would more tightly regulate U.S.-based Internet pharmacies. The proposal, Henney said, aims both to permit "legitimate e-commerce to flourish" and prevent "significant risks to public health."
The Clinton proposal would require that online pharmacies include a phone number to reach a pharmacist and information for consumers on the site's ownership and state licensure as well as information regarding the pharmacist in charge.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has launched a voluntary program, known as VIPPS, through which legitimate online pharmacies can receive the association's "seal of approval." The seal verifies that state licenses for the pharmacy and the pharmacists-in-charge are in good standing and indicates the association has inspected the pharmacy. To receive the seal, NABP asks the sites to verify adherence to patient privacy, to authenticate and secure prescription orders, to adhere to a recognized quality assurance policy, and to allow a provision for meaningful consultation between patients and pharmacists.
Egads! E-Drugs and Internet Pharmacies Face Senate Scrutiny
March 21, 2000 (Washington) -- The witness tables in wood-paneled Senate hearing rooms usually don't feature laptop computers. But Tuesday, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee entered the cyberworld, taking its first look at the rise of Internet pharmacies.
The FDA reports that it counted more than 325 web sites earlier this year involved in drug sales. And according to drugstore.com, a leading Internet pharmacy, the online prescription drug market will grow to $15 billion in 2004 from practically zero in 1998.
At their best, Internet pharmacies may offer consumers cheaper drugs and greater convenience to the "bricks and mortar" drugstores, even as they honor only appropriate prescriptions. But an array of "rogue" sites are also selling illegal therapies and drugs without proper prescriptions.
"The vast majority of the companies operating online pharmacies are not following the law," Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall said. She told the committee that fewer than two sites are legal for every 100 rogue sites.
Illegal sites -- sometimes run by physician practices -- typically rely on medical questionnaires for consumers who wish to buy prescription drugs.
FDA Commissioner Jane Henney, MD, told the panel that the agency has about 40 sites under active review and has sent warning letters to 23 domestic sellers and "cyber" letters to 13 foreign-based sites. The agency already has asked Congress for $10 million next year in special Internet enforcement money.
And the Clinton administration is close to sending proposed legislation to Congress that would more tightly regulate U.S.-based Internet pharmacies. The proposal, Henney said, aims both to permit "legitimate e-commerce to flourish" and prevent "significant risks to public health."
The Clinton proposal would require that online pharmacies include a phone number to reach a pharmacist and information for consumers on the site's ownership and state licensure as well as information regarding the pharmacist in charge.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has launched a voluntary program, known as VIPPS, through which legitimate online pharmacies can receive the association's "seal of approval." The seal verifies that state licenses for the pharmacy and the pharmacists-in-charge are in good standing and indicates the association has inspected the pharmacy. To receive the seal, NABP asks the sites to verify adherence to patient privacy, to authenticate and secure prescription orders, to adhere to a recognized quality assurance policy, and to allow a provision for meaningful consultation between patients and pharmacists.
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