Consumers
Learn how to identify unlicensed pharmacies, what they are selling and how to shop safely.
The internet is full of online pharmacy websites selling prescription medications at discounted prices, but most of those pharmacy websites are unlicensed, uncertified drug distributors. The medicines they sell are manufactured and sold outside government regulation, and because they’re unregulated, consumers who purchase them can never be sure what it is they are buying. Unlicensed…
[...]PSM’s Safe Savings Resource
Americans are searching for less expensive medication, but also want assurance that the drugs they rely on are safe, untainted and regulated to ensure quality. PSM’s Safe Savings handout offers patients safe strategies to find their prescription medicines at lower prices.
[...]5 Kinds Of Poisons Found In Counterfeit Drugs
There are a lot of shady ingredients that go into counterfeit medications that consumers can be exposed to by buying directly from unlicensed drug sellers on the internet, or when medical professionals purchase medications from outside the secured supply chain.
Here is a compendium of five types of poison that investigators have found in counterfeit medications.
[...]Save Money Safely from Online Pharmacies
This is the web version of PSM’s patient handout “Save Money Safely on Your Prescriptions from Online Pharmacies,” which advises patients how to choose a safe online pharmacy.
[...]These tried and true strategies can lower your prescription drug bills
Prescription medication can be expensive, but there are safe systems in place to help Americans buy reliable medications at lower prices. Saving at the Doctor’s Office Lower cost medications can start at the doctor’s office. Generic medications are typically just as effective as their namebrand alternatives and they can save patients substantial money. If a…
[...]Do YOU Know How to Decode a Fake Pharmacy Website?
A quick perusal of the Internet will turn up a vast array of websites claiming to offer pharmacy services. Yet only 3% of online pharmacies are legitimate. How do you decode a fake pharmacy website?
[...]FDA Warns Consumers to Beware Bogus Diabetes Treatments
Images of bogus diabetes treatments courtesy of the FDA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning diabetics to beware of illegal “natural” remedies for the treatment of diabetes. They pose a serious health danger to diabetics, and are part of the growing trend amongst drug counterfeiters pushing fake natural medications. The FDA has…
[...]4 Risks Doctors Don’t Warn COPD Patients About
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease that obstructs airways, limiting breathing and causing cardiopulmonary issues. Patients with COPD are likely to suffer severe shortness of breath and are more susceptible to upper respiratory infections, including flu and pneumonia, both of which can be deadly for them. Chronic conditions like COPD are often expensive to treat, and COPD patients may seek to find cheaper medications from risky fake online pharmacies which would provide them with substandard and unapproved medication and poor treatment. But patients can shop safely online and find affordable authentic medicines.
According to a report just published by Men’s Health Network “Breath Easy, Your Lungs and COPD” COPD is “the third leading cause of death in the United States, with 12 million Americans diagnosed with COPD, and another 12 million who suffer from the disease without knowing they have the disease.” Additionally they report that 120,000 men and women die of COPD a year in the United States, and approximately 85-90% of COPD deaths are the result of cigarette smoking.
The symptoms of COPD as outlined in the Men’s Health Network Report are: shortness of breath (Dyspnea), a chronic cough, and wheezing. COPD occurs in two main forms, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. There is no cure for COPD, but symptoms can be ameliorated by careful treatment. Unfortunately COPD sufferers are particularly endangered by common illnesses that are easily treatable in a healthy patient. Colds, influenza, pneumonia, and other lung infections can be a death sentence for a COPD sufferer.
Flu season can be a dangerous time for COPD patients. The illness, which can range from mild to serious for the average adult, can be lethal for a COPD sufferer. Because of this, those with COPD should seek vaccination for seasonal flu, and medical treatment if they become ill with the flu.
However, if a COPD sufferer makes the mistake of turning to a fake online pharmacy to seek a flu vaccination or flu cure, they could be signing their own death warrant. Drug counterfeiters regard flu season as an opportunity to make money selling fake vaccines and flu treatments. In February 2013, during the height of flu season, the FDA posted a public warning concerning fraudulent flu treatments and vaccines for sale on the Internet. As Gary Coody, the FDA’s national health fraud coordinator said in the warning “As any health threat emerges, fraudulent products appear almost overnight. Right now, so-called ‘alternatives’ to the flu vaccine are big with scammers.”
[...]Fake Botox on the Rise in US as FDA Warnings and Recent Arrest Indicate
In 2012, the FDA sent over 350 warning letters to doctors advising them they may have purchased fraudulent or misbranded injectable drugs, including fake versions of Avastin, Botox, and two different osteoporosis treatments. Now the FDA has identified another batch of fake Botox that is currently being marketed to doctor via fax blast.
On April 26, 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a drug safety warning for healthcare practitioners, warning them that fraudulent versions of the anti-wrinkle treatment Botox are being marketed and sold in the US. The Botox is being sold by unlicensed suppliers, and has not been vetted within the secure U.S. supply chain. They state that the FDA “cannot confirm that the manufacture, quality, storage, and handling of these products follow U.S. standards. These fraudulent products are considered unsafe and should not be used.“
[...]New Internet Domain Name .PHARMACY Will Foster Patient Safety
In light of the threat of illegal online pharmacies, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) announced their application to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to own and operate a secure and vetted .PHARMACY domain for licensed Internet pharmacies.
The April 2013 report from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) illustrates the patient safety threat from illegal online pharmacies by showing that of more than 10,000 Web sites they analyzed, nearly 97% operate out of compliance with pharmacy laws and practice standards established in the US. To combat that threat, they have announced their application to ICANN for .PHARMACY, which will be available only to legally operating online pharmacies, who follow the rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they are based.
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