Copyright 1999 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
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May 20, 1999, THURSDAY, Late Sports
Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10
LENGTH: 287 words
HEADLINE:
Doctor agrees to stop Internet prescriptions
BYLINE: BY JIM RITTER
BODY:
The state on Wednesday reinstated the medical license of a Naperville doctor
after he agreed to stop prescribing drugs over the Internet.
Dr. Robert
Filice of Naperville Holistic Health Center prescribed Viagra to patients he
hadn't seen, a practice the state called unethical. The Illinois Professional
Regulation Department temporarily suspended Filice's license May 5. To get his
license back, Filice agreed not to prescribe any drug over the Internet or to
prescribe to patients he hasn't examined. Filice also must pay a $ 1,000 fine.
A growing number of pharmacy Web sites dispense Viagra and other popular
drugs for such conditions as baldness and allergies. Critics say it's unsafe for
doctors to prescribe drugs to patients they haven't seen.
Several states
have investigated doctors who prescribe over the Internet, but Illinois is
believed to be the first to suspend an Internet doctor's license, said
professional regulation department spokesman Tony Sanders.
In an
interview last December, Filice said he consulted for a pharmacy Web site that
charged $ 85 for each patient. To obtain a prescription, a patient filled out a
one-page health form and sent it to the Internet pharmacy via fax or e-mail.
Officials said Internet doctors cannot tell whether an online patient is
telling the truth.
Filice could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In
a statement he released after his suspension, Filice said his Internet patients
completed a "thorough on-line medical questionnaire," and none had been harmed.
As a result of the state's crackdown, Filice said, "no other qualified,
competent and caring physician will dare enter the area of on-line medicine.
This is not the way to progress."
LOAD-DATE: May 20,
1999 
