Health Alert 165
There are legitimate online pharmacies that can offer you relief from over inflated U.S. prices. Some of my patients use them to save money. But buyer beware! It is a challenge to tell the reputable ones from the bad ones. Some pill mills like to hide behind the maple leaf but are not actually located in Canada but Thailand or Pakistan.
Today, I’ll give you some tips on how to spot the frauds. And I’ll tell you about the Canadian online pharmacy that my patients happily use.
* A Brand New $15 Billion Industry *
Internet drug sales are rising faster than you can delete your daily dose of “Buy Viagra” spam email. Americans will spend $15 billion this year on Internet prescriptions.
Where there is money, you will find charlatans. Boca Raton, a city about 30 miles south of my office is the home to many telemarketing scams. With nice homes and affluent retired folk, it is the perfect place to defraud people out of their money. I delete about 10 emails a day advertising Viagra and Xanax for sale—no prescription necessary.
As a doctor, I would never suggest someone order or take a drug without first visiting a licensed professional. But I am sympathetic to those without health insurance who feel they must resort to these fly-by-night online pharmacies.
The explosion of the Internet pharmacy industry comes complete with shrapnel. At least one death is on record from an Internet purchase. A suicidal young man died from an overdose of painkillers that he acquired through the Internet.
A four-month investigation unearthed a wide variety of problems associated with the online industry. Problems can occur even with legitimate online pharmacies. The average e-doctor reviews a drug request in 90 seconds. One investigation reports that one e-doctor rubber-stamped 1700 requests in just one day! This certainly leaves room for human error. But if you order from a rogue pharmacy these are the chances you are taking:
• Receiving improperly packaged or shipped products*
• Receiving counterfeit drugs
• Receiving drugs that are less or too potent
• Receiving drugs that are mixed with vodka, dirty water, or even cement
• Receiving no drugs at all—just a credit card bill
* Last September the FDA cracked down on CanaRX.com for shipping insulin warm. Insulin must be kept cold. I remember when this happened. It started all kinds of initiatives from the FDA to crack down on virtual pharmacies.
* Improving Safety when Purchasing from Online Pharmacies *
Despite these potential dangers I’m sure people will continue to purchase drugs online.
Here are some tips to help you do so safely:
• Only purchase drugs from online pharmacies that have the approval of the NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy).
• Never order drugs online without a prescription from your personal physician.
• Be aware of pseudo-Canadian pharmacies. Because Canada has a good reputation, many scam artists “hide behind the maple leaf”, pretending they are located in Canada.
• If the packaging is damaged, don’t take them.
The only online pharmacy I can vouch for is Canada Drugs ( http://canadadrugs.com or 1-800-CAN-DRUG). The only marketing I’ve seen from them came directly to my office. They don’t spam individuals. They give doctors information that we can then distribute to patients. I have had patients use them with good satisfaction.
Al Sears, MD