GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

Drug reimportation plans undaunted despite Bush task force concerns

HHS cites worries about existing reimportation programs but makes no explicit threat to shut them down.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Jan. 17, 2005.

Washington -- Doctors likely won't see a drop in the volume of patients getting reimported drugs via state programs or by their own initiative even now that the Bush administration has officially weighed in with strong reservations about the practice.

The Dept. of Health and Human Services' task force on reimportation issued a final report last month that details myriad safety and cost concerns. The document nevertheless stops short of calling for federal action against entities or people who are getting drugs from outside the United States.

Such a move is not surprising to physicians, given that federal officials have not been as effective as many doctors would like in shutting down other questionable drug operations, said Michael Reineck, MD, president of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

The Food and Drug Administration, for instance, has been slow in stamping out dietary supplement advertising that makes false statements about clinical effectiveness, he noted.

"We're very skeptical as to how federal regulation can stop people from getting their drugs from overseas when it can't control the country's internal trade," said Dr. Reineck, an orthopedic surgeon in West Bend, Wis. He reported that many of his patients have been importing drugs that he prescribes and predicted that most patients would continue to do so.

The AMA maintains that patient safety is the most important factor in determining whether the United States can set up a national drug reimportation program. While opening the door for possible support of federal legislation in the future, the group remains opposed to personal reimportation over the Internet.

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