NABP Hosts Washington, DC Online Pharmacy Provider Summit

In order to protect consumers who shop for prescriptions online and devise an action plan for regulatory initiatives, NABP hosted a summit conference of federal and state regulators, online pharmacies, consumer advocates, and medical groups in Washington, DC, Tuesday, November 9, 1999.

"The principal goal of the Summit was to collaborate on the course for the future of online pharmacies," said NABP President Dyke F. Anderson. "A key focus of the meeting was how to make the Internet a safe place for consumers to fill their prescriptions safely and to get accurate health information."

The Summit was sponsored through educational grants provided by planetRx.com, drugstore.com, CVS.com, and Merck-Medco. Participants joined in support of NABP's Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) certification program as the official "seal of approval" for legitimate Internet pharmacy practices and the first step in safeguarding consumer health online. The VIPPS seal is awarded to online pharmacies licensed by the appropriate state boards of pharmacy, and that meet the program's rigorous 17-point criteria review. Said Anderson, "We need to make the VIPPS seal a recognizable symbol that will guide patients to reputable sources of medication and information."

In his keynote address, Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of Connecticut, identified access to information regarding online pharmacy companies as a crucial component to protecting the public health.

"Public–private partnerships — combining government, industry and patient advocates — are key to educating consumers," Blumenthal said. "Providing consumers with relevant information about 'rogue sites,' as well as responsible online pharmacies, will empower them to make wise decisions about health care. Equally important, more resources and cooperative state-federal action are vital to effectively investigating violations of our professional licensing statutes and consumer protection laws."

Summit participants supported the creation of an industry-wide coalition that will:

• Establish coalition task forces to assess the scope of the current state and federal regulation of Internet pharmacies and develop rational technological, legislative, and enforcement initiatives to address consumer concerns;
• Develop an aggressive consumer education program and materials to inform patients about the VIPPS seal and the protections it offers, e.g., what they should look for when selecting an online pharmacy, and respond to an immediate initiative proposed during the Summit, calling for the creation of a vehicle to report fraudulent pharmacy sites on the Internet; and to
• Collaborate with physician and other professional prescriber organizations to develop guidelines related to the appropriate prescriber/patient relationship in an online pharmacy environment.

"All of us participating in this Summit want to see illegal sites stopped and prevented from harming patients," concluded Anderson. "We are encouraged by the industry's support of the VIPPS program and other education initiatives to achieve this important goal."

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