To proactively prevent merchants from operating rogue Internet pharmacies, our member, Visa, with input from our ex-officio member, LegitScript, developed the “Online Pharmacy Guide for Acquirers.” One of the focuses of the guide is to educate acquirers on the dangers of the Internet pharmacy market, including illegal online pharmacies’ failure to comply with basic pharmacy licensing procedures, drug safety, and applicable laws and regulations.

The guide seeks to provide acquirers with guidelines on how to distinguish between legitimate merchants and those who seek to profit from compromising patient safety. To accomplish this, it outlines the key illicit behaviors that rogue Internet pharmacies are engaged in, including:

• the sale of prescription-only medicines without the required prescription from an in-person examination;

• the sale of “unapproved” drugs in the patient’s jurisdiction, based on the applicable overseeing agency;

• the failure to obtain and maintain a valid pharmacy license in the established business location, and in all areas where the online pharmacy ships to; and

• providing misleading statements regarding the nature of the drugs or pharmacy business.

According to the guide, when it comes to internet pharmacies, laws differ in other countries. For instance, in the United States, “drugs must be FDA-approved; pharmacies must typically be licensed in any state they offer to ship to, and only prescriptions dispensed by a medical practitioner who has physically examined the patient are lawful.” The guide also provides summaries of the laws regarding online pharmacies in England, China, Canada, Spain and other countries, along with verification resources, licensure policies and procedures, and more.

CSIP encourages all internet pharmacy acquirers to read the new guide, because it provides an excellent overview of what it means for Internet pharmacies to be legitimate. In addition, acquirers should utilize LegitScript monitoring and analysis to ensure that Internet pharmacies are compliant with the international operating regulations. For consumers, we recommend using the LegitScript’s Pharmacy Verification Tool that is available on our website, before you buy from an online pharmacy.

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The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and our 13 member companies have the shared goal of helping address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. Continue to read this blog for updates on CSIP’s education, enforcement and information-sharing efforts.

This item was highlighted in CSIP’s February 2015 newsletter.