# GAO Recommends Heightened Disclosure for Internet Pharmacies



## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

The URL for this article is: http://www.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2000/...025plcy003.html GAO Recommends Heightened Disclosure forInternet Pharmacies NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 26 - Congress should amend the Food, Drug,and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to require Internet pharmacies to disclose additionalinformation, such as the identity of officers and owners and where the pharmaciesare licensed to do business, the General Accounting Office (GAO) concludes in anew report. The GAO's call for increased disclosure comes amid rapid growth of web-basedpharmacies. Almost 10 million Americans used the Internet last year to shop forhealth products, spending $160 million on prescription drugs, according to thereport. That has raised concern that online prescribing may be outpacing federal andstate consumer protection laws. The GAO analysis responds to a request by several members of the US House ofRepresentatives, including Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr., R-Va., chairman of the HouseCommerce Committee. Of the 190 Internet pharmacies identified by the GAO in the report, 111 required aprescription from a physician, 54 provided a prescription for consumers whoanswer an online questionnaire and 25 did not require a prescription. Many of the sites, including those that required a prescription, failed to discloseenough information on their websites for consumers to determine if the drugs theywere buying were approved in the US and dispensed according to state and federallaws, the GAO said. So far, 20 states have taken action against unlicensed Internet pharmacies and sitesthat prescribe medications on the basis of an online questionnaire. But as the GAOpoints out, that does not stop unscrupulous operators from dispensing drugs inanother state. Two bills in Congress would tackle the problem by requiring mandatory disclosureor certification of Internet pharmacies and by giving the US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) the power to use the federal courts to stop illegal operatorsnationwide (see Reuters Health report, October 18), the GAO said. In addition, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) hasdeveloped a voluntary certification program. As of September 1st, it had certified11 Internet pharmacies and received 25 applications. Yet the problem of foreign-based Internet pharmacies illegally selling prescriptionsto US customers continues to pose difficulties for federal authorities, the GAO said. To ensure that regulators can easily identify website operators, the GAO says thatdisclosures should include the name, business address and telephone number of theInternet pharmacy and its principals and the state where the pharmacy is licensed todo business. When permitted by state law, Internet pharmacies that offer onlineprescribing services also should report the name, business address and phonenumber for each prescribing physician and where the physician is licensed. In response to the report, officials of the FDA, the NABP, and the Federal TradeCommission suggested limiting online prescribing, granting states national injunctiverelief and requiring Internet pharmacy disclosures to be independently verified. But GAO stuck to its recommendations, explaining that state pharmacy and medicalboards may restrict online prescribing and verify disclosed information underexisting regulations. The GAO said that it did not assess proposals for grantingnational injunctive relief because that was outside the scope of the request fromHouse members.


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