• Government
• Profession
• Business
• Opinion
• Health

• Health reform
• H1N1
• P4P
• EMRs
• Medicare
• Liability
• AMA House
• » More

• Book Excerpt
• Business Pitch
• Meetings
• » More

• Contract Language
• Ethics Forum
• In the Courts
• Practice Management
• Technically Speaking
• » More

• Bby date
• Regions
• Health plans
• Sections
• News briefs
• Columns
• Editorials
• Letters
• Writers
• Other years

• Search tips
• E-mail alert
• Radio
• RSS
• Mobile
• Subscribe
• Institutions
• Staff directory
• Advertising
• Permissions
• Reprints
• News media
• Site guide
• Useful links
• About
• Premium
• Contact

Agencies join forces to stop rogue online pharmacies

Government officials are stepping up efforts to shut down Internet outlets that offer painkillers and other prescription drugs without physician oversight.

By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, amednews correspondent. Dec. 22/29, 2003.

• PRINT|
• E-MAIL|
• RESPOND|
• REPRINTS|
• SHARE

A Baltimore internist suspected one of her chronic pain patients -- a 60-year-old woman -- of abusing pain meds. The situation left Dana Simpler, MD, perplexed. She was cautious in prescribing to this patient. Still, the telltale signs were clear, leaving her to wonder where and how the patient was getting the drugs. "We were having trouble understanding how this was happening. She was not going to buy them on a street corner. And we were controlling her prescriptions."

Or so Dr. Simpler thought.

What she didn't know was that the woman was ordering narcotics and muscle relaxants over the Internet. "She was so sick she ended up in the hospital with a drug overdose," said Dr. Simpler. "We worry about drug dependence with chronic pain patients; at least when we are prescribing we can control it. But when patients are taking your prescription painkillers, Internet painkillers and mixing in some muscle relaxants, it's trouble. It's a very dangerous situation."

Rogue online pharmacies are illegally hawking everything from Viagra to hydrocodone without valid prescriptions or physician oversight. And it is increasingly viewed as both a patient care and public health threat that is drawing government action.

According to the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, approximately 90 cases are under way in which the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration and state, local and foreign governments are joining forces. "We've taken aggressive steps to shut down these sites when they operate in the United States," said FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, in November to the Drug Information Assn. in Canada. "And we are taking more steps at the border as well."