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Document 46 of 60.

JULY 30, 1999, FRIDAY

SECTION: IN THE NEWS

LENGTH: 760 words

HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
THE HONORABLE FRED UPTON
BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS
SUBJECT - DRUGSTORES ON THE NET:
THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF ON-LINE PHARMACIES

BODY:

Good morning and welcome. Today, this Subcommittee is holding the first hearing in the history of Congress on the issue of on-line pharmacies. Several years ago, no one would have even known what that term meant. Today, technology allows us to order everything from daily prescription medication to contact eye solution to q-tips from one Web site over the Internet, have it delivered to our door and often at a lower price than the neighborhood drugstore. Clearly, electronic commerce is growing at a rapid pace across this country and across the world.
With this growth in electronic commerce, we also need a dose of caution. The Internet can often pose dangers to consumers who are not able to distinguish legitimate Web sites from those that may be violating the law. Many Web sites today allow consumers to order prescription medication, often without ever seeing a doctor face-to- face and sometimes even without a valid prescription. Among the concerns is the product quality of these drugs and whether patients may be at risk of serious and even fatal drug reactions due to lack of oversight from a doctor.
Since this Committee began its investigation of on-line pharmacies over seven months ago, the number of Web sites selling pharmaceuticals has increased rapidly. Estimates are that there are some 400 Web sites on the Internet today selling instant-prescriptions. Some of these sites operate for a short period of time at one Web site address before disappearing and showing up under another name, making it difficult for anyone to track them down. Others prey upon Y2K fears of consumers. These sites advertise that in order to make sure the consumer has enough medication at the turn of the century, they should order their pharmaceuticals from a particular Web site, often at a higher price than the consumer would normally pay.
As part of our investigation, we have met with Federal regulators, state medical and pharmacy boards, health care associations and a host of other interested parties. Like these organizations, our first and foremost interest has been the public health care concern arising from unscrupulous Web sites selling products without a valid prescription or situations where the customary physician-patient relationship does not exist.
In my home district of Kalamazoo, Michigan, a local news station was able to order Viagra for a cat, a dog, a deceased individual, and a man with a heart condition. The ease at which these transactions happened was alarming. These unscrupulous sites pose a threat to the health and safety of the American public and undermine the public's confidence in legitimate on-line pharmacies.
Our hearing today is an attempt to discover the jurisdictional lines that exist dividing state responsibility with that of the Federal government. As many here well know, the issue of licensing pharmacies and doctors lies within the states. Other issues, such as dispensing without a prescription at all, lie with the FDA. Clearly, in order for us to begin to solve some of the problems associated with on-line pharmacies, we must all work together. The Internet poses new challenges that did not exist even 10 years ago. Technology is outpacing our abilities to react in many instances. This is not to say that we have had no success. Some states, and even some federal agencies, have had limited success in enforcing the laws currently on the books. We need to make sure these enforcement actions against unscrupulous sites continue.
Just as we need a dose of caution in dealing with the growth of on- line pharmacy, we also need a dose of caution in responding to abuses of it. We will hear today of the positive ways in which this technology is serving the needs and pocketbooks of consumers. We don't want to inadvertently strangle the further growth of this technology in an effort to prevent its abuse by some.
It is my understanding that an interagency working group has been established to look at how best to prevent the misuse of this technology most effectively. I think that is an appropriate first step. I would like to see this effort intensified and broadened to include the states and other parties which have responsibility under current law for the regulation of pharmacy an interstate commerce.
I will continue to be vigilant in looking at this issue and am committed to holding additional hearings if need be. I would like to thank all of the witnesses who are here to testify today, especially Christine Behrens from WWMT - News 3 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
END

LOAD-DATE: August 4, 1999

Document 46 of 60.


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