Buying prescription drugs on the internet: promises and pitfalls.

2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
The Internet

USABILITY INTERNET-PHARMACIES SITES

2020 ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Chudnov A.A. ◽  
Umarov S.Z.
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Electronic Prescription ◽  
Anal Ysis ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Internet Pharmacies

The modern development of information technology provides the opportunity to use them in many areas of life, which also include medicine and pharmacy. The introduction of technologies such as an electronic prescription system, drug labeling, creates the prereq-uisites for the remote provision of services. Recently, legislative changes have legalized the distance trad-ing of OTC drugs. In this regard, soon the supply chain of the drug to the end user may include a mini-mum number of professionals. Thus, in these condi-tions, the role of information that users can receive via the Internet is significantly increasing. Such a term as the "usability" of the site, or its ease of use, appeared back in 1998 and every year is of increasing importance. In relation to online pharmacies, the usa-bility assessment is especially relevant in terms of both general functionality, which is typical for all services selling products via the Internet, and features specific to Internet pharmacies only. On May 8, 2020, an anal-ysis of the "usability" of 20 sites of pharmacy organi-zations was conducted. Some advantages were high-lighted (putting information on the quality of goods (declarations, certificates), warnings, contraindica-tions and storage conditions in a separate block), as well as disadvantages (some clutter of the site with elements, the presence of blank pages and a fuzzy warning about prescription drugs).

A Framework for Privacy Assurance and Ubiquitous Knowledge Discovery in Health 2.0 Data Mashups

Cyber Crime ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 263-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Hu ◽  
Liam Peyton
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Knowledge Discovery ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
Health 2.0 ◽  
Share Data

Knowledge discovery is a critical component in improving health care. Health 2.0 leverages Web 2.0 technologies to integrate and share data from a wide variety of sources on the Internet. There are a number of issues which must be addressed before knowledge discovery can be leveraged effectively and ubiquitously in Health 2.0. Health care data is very sensitive in nature so privacy and security of personal data must be protected. Regulatory compliance must also be addressed if cooperative sharing of data is to be facilitated to ensure that relevant legislation and policies of individual health care organizations are respected. Finally, interoperability and data quality must be addressed in any framework for knowledge discovery on the Internet. In this chapter, we lay out a framework for ubiquitous knowledge discovery in Health 2.0 based on a combination of architecture and process. Emerging Internet standards and specifications for defining a Circle of Trust, in which data is shared but identity and personal information protected, are used to define an enabling architecture for knowledge discovery. Within that context, a step-by-step process for knowledge discovery is defined and illustrated using a scenario related to analyzing the correlation between emergency room visits and adverse effects of prescription drugs. The process we define is arrived at by reviewing an existing standards-based process, CRISP-DM, and extending it to address the new context of Health 2.0.

Medication Access through the Internet: Legal and Safety Considerations for Pharmacists

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-335
Author(s):  
Michael A. Veronin
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Drug Regimen ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Medication Access ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Internet Pharmacies ◽  
Safety Considerations

Today, it is common for patients to order prescription drugs via their home computer through an Internet pharmacy. Because of this, pharmacists may be faced with having to evaluate a patient's drug regimen that may include foreign-made imported drugs obtained through the Internet. This article addresses major issues involving drug importation via this mechanism. Topics discussed include types of Internet pharmacies, patient access to prescription drugs, self-medication, legal issues, and potential health risks. The current level of activity of Internet drug sales has reached record volume and does not appear to be subsiding; pharmacists should be aware of these emerging influences on their practice.

Comparison of Simvastatin Tablets from the US and International Markets Obtained via the Internet

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A Veronin ◽  
Nga T Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
High Performance ◽  
International Markets ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Uniformity ◽  
Innovator Product ◽  
Drug Products ◽  
Weight Variation ◽  
The Us

Background: Convenient access to prescription drugs produced outside the US has been facilitated by the Internet. Of greatest concern to clinicians and policy-makers is product quality and patient safety. The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings to potential buyers that the safety of drugs purchased through the Internet cannot be guaranteed and may present consumers with a health risk from substandard products. Objective: To determine whether generic simvastatin tablets and capsules obtained via the Internet from international markets are equivalent to the US innovator product regarding major aspects of pharmaceutical quality. Methods: Twenty simvastatin tablets and capsules were obtained for pharmaceutical analysis: 19 generic samples from international Internet pharmacy Web sites and the US innovator product. Tablet samples were tested according to US Pbarmacopeial (USP) guidelines where applicable, using high-performance liquid chromatography, disintegration, dissolution, weight variation, hardness, and assessment of physical characteristics. These tests are often used to detect formulation defects of drug products during the manufacturing process. Results: Several international samples analyzed were not comparable to the US product in one or more aspects of quality assurance testing, and significant variability was found among foreign-made tablets themselves. Five samples failed to meet USP standards for dissolution and 2 for content uniformity. Among all samples, variability was observed in hardness, weight, and physical characterization. Conclusions: Results suggest that manufacturing standards for the international generic drug products compared with the US innovator product are not equivalent with regard to quality attributes. These findings have implications for safety and effectiveness that should be considered by clinicians to potentially safeguard patients who choose to purchase foreign-manufactured drugs via the Internet.

Consumer Protection: Online Sale of Prescription Drugs to Minors Not Unconscionable

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-317
Author(s):  
Charlotte Spears
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Medical Doctor ◽  
District Court ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Application ◽  
Online Pharmacy ◽  
Sting Operation

In Stovall v. Confimed.com, the Kansas Supreme Court held that an out-of-state medical doctor who sold a prescription drug to a Kansas minor over the Internet did not commit an unconscionable act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). The Shawnee Country District Court had enjoined the doctor from prescribing or dispensing prescription medicine within the state of Kansas, and the doctor appealed the injunction to the Kansas Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's decision to grant injunctive relief, but found no unconscionable conduct under the KCPA.The appellee, Washington physician Dr. Howard J. Levine, sold the sexual enhancement drug Viagra over the Internet through his online pharmacy. Neither the physician nor the online pharmacy was licensed to practice in Kansas. The purchasers were two Kansas residents, one of whom was a minor. Both purchased the drugs in a sting operation conducted by the Kansas Attorney General and received the drugs after completing an online application.

scholarly journals ILLEGAL INTERNET PHARMACIES AS A THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH IN EUROPE

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2169-2174
Author(s):  
Nataliya O. Gutorova ◽  
Vitalii M. Pashkov ◽  
Oleksii S. Soloviov
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Patient Safety ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
National Level ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Black Market ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Internet Pharmacies

The aim: This article aims to raise awareness and stimulate serious discussion about the dangers of illegal Internet pharmacies for patient safety and public health, the necessity to improve legal instruments, and unite the efforts of governments, professional organizations, and civil society for combating this activity. Materials and methods: This study is based on the Medicrime Convention, empirical and analytical data of the WHO, Interpol, Europol, NABF, Directive 2011/62/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 8, 2011, the regulatory acts and juridical practice of Ukraine, experts interview of pharmacy practicians, analysis of websites. Totally 18 laws and papers, 34 court judgments, 50 websites were analyzed, six experts were interviewed. Dialectical, comparative, analytic, synthetic, system analyses and sociological research methods were used. Results: Illegal Internet pharmacies are widespread in Europe, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This black market poses a severe threat to patient safety and public health as falsifying, substandard, and smuggled medicines are sold through these channels. Without any exception, all illegal pharmacies sell prescription drugs without any prescriptions. Regulatory and protective legal instruments at the national and international levels are insufficient to counter the Internet trade in medicines. Conclusions: The widespread proliferation of illegal Internet pharmacies in Europe requires European states to work together to protect patient safety and public health. A legal mechanism needs to be established to exchange information and combat illegal pharmaceutical activities on the Internet at the international level. At the national level, it is necessary to strengthen control over the wholesale of prescription medications to prevent them from entering the black market.

Internet Pharmacies

2011 ◽  
pp. 666-671
Author(s):  
Philip Rosson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Customer Information ◽  
New Business ◽  
Internet Pharmacies ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
And Performance

The advent of Internet technology has affected the pharmaceutical industry in at least two ways. First, existing companies have implemented Internet solutions for efficiency and performance reasons. These solutions may convey benefits across the entire manufacturer—wholesaler—pharmacy supply chain (e.g., inventory tracking and management), or focus at one level (e.g., providing customer information from a pharmacy Web site). Second, new businesses have been established to capitalize on the opportunities made possible by Internet technology. The new businesses may be related to others, as in the case where storefront pharmacies have established online companies to expand their market scope. Two other new business types represent more radical change and are controversial. The first uses the Internet to deliver information about specific drugs through spam (unsolicited commercial or bulk e-mail). Relatively little is known about such pharmacies, although they account for a large and growing proportion of all spam (PRWeb, 2004). They often promote dubious products and cures, may not require a prescription, and actual delivery is not assured (Barrett, 2001). Some customers buy from such pharmacies in spite of these problems. Because there is a dearth of research on pharmacies using spam, and given that their ethics and standards are at best highly questionable, they are not considered here. A second type of pharmacy has gained prominence since 1999. The Internet pharmacies in question are start-ups that operate wholly online and have no connection to existing pharmacies. For the most part, these Internet pharmacies export prescription drugs from a lower cost country to one or more where higher costs prevail. In North America, many Internet pharmacies have sprung up in western Canada to supply drugs to U.S. consumers. International trade in prescription drugs is also seen elsewhere, again motivated by different price levels.1 The North America experience is discussed next. Canadian Internet pharmacies have achieved success since 1999, but face an uncertain future. Their emergence is traced below and the major points of controversy identified. The analysis reveals that the application of Internet technology in these pharmacies was quite straightforward. More problematic is the complex, political environment in which Internet pharmacies operate, and the fact that the strategy adopted challenges established legal and ethical standards. These issues are addressed in the final sections where the future of Internet pharmacies is examined.

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