Copyright 2000 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta
Journal and Constitution
January 3, 2000, Monday, Home Edition
SECTION: Editorial; Pg. 10A
LENGTH: 451 words
HEADLINE:
Editorials: Regulate online drugs;
Cyber-pharmacies offer convenience but
harbor hidden dangers.
BYLINE: Staff
SOURCE: CONSTITUTION
BODY:
Recently, a 16-year-old boy got an online prescription for Viagra. His is
not the only case of abuse of prescription drugs by
cyber-pharmacies. Drugs have been prescribed over the
Internet for family pets and dead people. It's time for the
Food and Drug Administration to get serious about regulating the sale of
pharmaceuticals online. President Clinton's plan for broader FDA authority in
such sales is a good place to start.
A recent study by researchers at
the University of Pennsylvania revealed that 400 Internet sites offer drugs
without requiring a prescription from a patient's physician. Many such sites
have hired doctors willing to write prescriptions with no face-to-face contact,
on the basis of an abbreviated medical history form filled out online.
The study showed that 86 sites regularly sell Viagra and other
"lifestyle" drugs, such as Propecia for baldness and Xenical for weight loss
without adequate medical prescriptions. All three can be potentially dangerous
for certain patients, but many people prefer to buy them without having to
discuss with a doctor the conditions that might genuinely require them.
Historically, the regulation of pharmacists and doctors has been the
sole domain of states, most of which have regulatory boards made up of
professionals who can judge unethical or dangerous practices. But it is
difficult for states to keep up with cyber-pharmacies. Sometimes, the pharmacy
Web site, the patient and the prescribing doctor are in three separate states.
lllinois has passed groundbreaking legislation that could serve as a
national model. It now requires state registration and approval of mail-order
pharmacies that ship into the state. And Illinois regulators recently fined a
Illinois physician for prescribing drugs online without seeing the patients.
President Clinton's plan won't supersede such state regulations.
Instead, it provides the FDA with different tools. The president wants online
pharmacies to obtain a seal of approval from the FDA to signal to consumers that
they are meeting professional standards. He also wants additional funds for the
FDA to go after the fly-by-night sites and to impose federal fines of up to $
500,000 on those who sell drugs without valid prescriptions.
On balance,
Internet drug sales are a consumer plus, offering convenience and lower costs.
They are a welcome service to the bedridden, elderly or handicapped who can't
easily pick up a prescription at the corner drugstore.
But such sales
can be deadly to patients if they are not regulated. Prescription drugs are
dangerous. That's why they're not sold over-the- counter. Without strict
guidelines, they shouldn't be sold online, either.
GRAPHIC: Graphic
Prescription medication. / DONNA
MARIE GRETHEN-TONG / Special
LOAD-DATE: January 3, 2000
