Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain warns of internet medicines risk

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has welcomed the Centre for Reform's report, Online pharmacy: patient choice or patient peril, and warns that people are dicing with danger if they use rogue internet websites to bypass safety rules and obtain medicines without a doctor’s prescription.

Having contributed to this report, the Society is now leading a working group to consider how the regulatory framework for pharmacists and other internet service providers could be enhanced to deliver greater public protection and ensure public confidence in the provision of online pharmacy services. This working group comprises pharmacy organisations, internet pharmacy providers, other regulatory bodies and consumer groups.

The working group has made a number of recommendations for the registration and identification of registered pharmacy premises; professional requirements for healthcare professionals providing online pharmacy services; and development of a co-ordinated public awareness campaign. In addition the Society's Code of Ethics details specific requirements for online pharmacy services to help ensure that the public receive the same high quality pharmaceutical care, irrespective of whether the service is proved online or face-to-face in the pharmacy premises.

David Pruce, Director of Practice and Quality Improvement, Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, said: “Getting medicines via the internet is convenient for many people. However, there is a clear difference between using a registered online pharmacy and using one of many unscrupulous websites that are prepared to sell powerful, often illegal or counterfeit medicines to people without a doctor’s prescription. The public needs to understand the risks that they run when they use such websites. The medicines that people receive from these sites may be totally unsuitable for them and there is high risk that the product that they receive will be counterfeit or sub-standard. The major problem that the authorities have in regulating such sites is that they are often based abroad. In this situation, the UK authorities have no jurisdiction to close them down and international co-operation is needed to take action against them."

“Patients using a registered online pharmacy can expect the same high standards as from traditional “bricks and mortar” pharmacies.