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Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies Participates in Educational Podcast for Consumers

ASOP logo with keyboard

The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), an international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting consumers from illegal online drug sellers, recently participated in an educational podcast for consumers on the dangers of counterfeit drugs.

Libby Baney, founder and executive director of ASOP, joined host Eric Michaels on eHealth Radio and the Pharmaceutical & Health News Channels to discuss topics including the prevalence of illegal online drug sellers, risks involved, and warning signs for consumers. Baney mentioned in the broadcast that when it comes to purchasing drugs online, red flags often include illegal online drug sellers that “are located outside of the United States, not licensed where you live or where you are purchasing medicine from, don’t require a prescription, offer deals that are just too good to be true, send spam or unsolicited emails, and offer to ship medicines worldwide.”  She suggested that in order to know if an online pharmacy is legitimate, a consumer can “make sure those red flags don’t exist” and check if a pharmacy is VIPPS certified on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) website or can look up a pharmacy on LegitScript.com. (Consumers can also check using our LegitScript’s pharmacy verification tool.)

In another educational effort aimed at doctors and pharmacists and other drug providers, ASOP, in partnership with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), recently designed a free CME/CPE course about the dangers of purchasing pharmaceuticals online from an unverified source, and offers tools to help keep patients safe.

As an ex-officio member of CSIP, ASOP has partnered with us in efforts including Operation Pangea participation, launching a national consumer education campaign, and releasing a public service announcement that ran in New York City’s Times Square through January 2015. ASOP has extended it’s reach internationally, with ASOP EU, a European coalition of patient groups, companies, organizations and individuals, united in making the internet a safer place to obtain medicines. At CSIP, we are thrilled to see ASOP’s continuing efforts to educate consumers and to combat rogue online pharmacies internationally, and look forward to a long partnership with them.

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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.