 Internet Drug Stores
First Published: September 1999
Last Update: September 2002
Author: Computer Partners
Buying prescription drugs online in the US is so easy that
the Federal Trade Commission is looking into ways to police it.
It was reported in June by Stacy Collett of idg.net that
during a sting operation in Kansas, a 16-year-old was able to buy Viagra and the
controlled substances Meridia and
Phentermine online.
"[The minor] filled out an online application -- date of
birth, answered a few medical questions that were optional and credit-card
information and sent it to the company. When our 16-year-old put his true date
of birth and got the drugs, it became apparent that a doctor probably wasn't
looking at that," Kelli Benintendi, assistant attorney general in the
consumer protection division was quoted as saying.
The loopholes in the US system have created all kinds of
concerns. Since medical legislation changes from state to state, online
pharmacies are able to operate in the void of legislative gaps in the system.
On July 30, Jodie Bernstein, Director of the Federal Trade
Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection testified before a House Subcommittee
about the benefits and risks of online pharmacies.
According to Bernstein, the rapid growth of online sales of
prescription drugs presents significant problems. She stated that both state
medical boards and state pharmacy boards had expressed concerns to the
Commission.
In the Kansas sting operation they discovered that six
doctors reviewing online applications weren't licensed by the state, and three
pharmacies weren't registered with the Kansas Board of Pharmacy.
Bernstein said that the practice that presents the greatest
concern is whether or not the consumer has a valid prescription to obtain the
drug. This aspect of prescriptions has been traditionally regulated by the
individual states.
Bernstein explained that many aspects of the online
prescribing and dispensing of prescription drugs, do not fall clearly within the
agency's traditional scope of authority or expertise and have been the primary
responsibility of other federal and states agencies.
During her testimony she described two efforts by FTC staff
to purchase prescription drugs online. Both efforts were successful even though
in one case the staff listed a "patient's" medical history that should
have raised serious concerns about the appropriateness of issuing a
prescription. In both cases, staff of the Commission were issued a prescription
for Viagra online with no questions asked.
Tom Spring, wrote in PC World in June that it isn't illegal
to purchase prescribed medication over the Internet if you have a prescription
from your doctor. The ethical and legal questions surround the issue of whether
a doctor can prescribe drugs over the Internet without ever meeting the patient.
CNN reported in June that the American Medical Association
was going to be looking into Internet prescribing rules.
According to Spring the AMA says that online physicians who
write prescriptions without patient contact are in direct violation of AMA
policy. The organization wants states to penalize doctors for prescribing drugs
sight unseen.
Spring also talked about pharmacies popping up overseas that
allow anyone with a credit card to purchase drugs like the tranquilizer Xanax,
anabolic steroids, Rohypnol (a sedative not available in the U.S.), and the
narcotic Demerol.
He reported that overseas pharmacies inform American buyers
that U.S. Customs will not seize shipments of drugs because a "personal
use" policy allows customers to import a limited supply of drugs.
As a result, Law enforcement agencies that try to manage
online pharmacy abuse are finding it a challenge to do so.
He talked about one instance in Arizona where authorities
found an online pharmacy with an Arizona mailing address that was being hosted
in another state. The resident physician signing off on prescriptions was
discovered to be a retired veterinarian living in Mexico.
The Arizona State Attorney General had tried to stop
out-of-state and overseas Internet doctors from doing business with state
residents, but lacked the power and enforcement muscle to stop them.
In Spring the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
developed the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program.
Boards from fifty states, the District of Columbia, three
U.S. territories, nine Canadian provinces, and four Australian states make up
the association membership.
Although nine of Canada's provinces fall under the Verified
Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites program, a search didn't turn up any online
Canadian drugstores.
According to Dr. Paul Raymond of OnlinePills,
Canadians are able to buy prescription drugs from his company in Atlanta,
Georgia. They are currently shipping several orders a day to Canada.
Pill Box's president William A. Stallknecht, R.Ph., said that
Canadians can legally purchase drugs online and can also get diagnosed online as
well at medicalcenter.net. In most cases patients need to physically see a
physician but in some instances diagnosis is made online.
In his article, Spring quoted Stallknecht, as saying that,
"These prescriptions are not illegal. They're bona fide prescriptions with
bona fide doctor-patient relationships."
Stallknecht said that,"one out of three prescriptions
written are prescribed by doctors who've never seen their patients." Spring
reported him as saying that the pharmaceutical drugs he sells online primarily
Viagra, Propecia,
Claritin, and
Xenical are safe. These drugs only require a
prescription because manufacturers are "milking their patents" before
they expire and the drugs become available over the counter.
Having stated all the legal ramifications of on-line drug
stores, the fact still remains that consumers love them. One of the main reasons
is that it provides consumers with considerable privacy.
In an article in August, Troy Wolverton on CNET News.com
reported that on its first day of trading, Drugstore.com closed at 50.25, giving
the company a market valuation of some $2.13 billion. Soma.com sold itself to
CVS for $30 million in stock in May.
Financial analyst Chris Vroom of Thomas Weisel Partners was
reported as saying that the potential size of the pharmacy market and the sense
that the Web is a natural place to sell drugs makes online companies attractive
to investors.
The Globe and Mail reported in March that Michael Tchong,
editor of Iconoclast, estimated that 76 million baby boomers are all going to be
over 40 by the year 2004 and health will start to play a more important role.
Studies indicate that the baby boomers are already driving the online drug store
industry.
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