The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) recently released the Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program Progress Report for State and Federal Regulators: July 2015, a quarterly report that reviews more than 11,000 different pharmacy websites. The findings in the latest report emphasize the need for accountability among stakeholders in enforcing policies to protect the public from illegal online drug sellers.
As indicated in the report, 96.13% of 11,000 sites reviewed were found to be operating out of compliance with U.S. pharmacy laws, and characterized as follows:
- 85% of “Not Recommended” sites are selling prescription drugs without requiring a valid prescription.
- Nearly 50% offer drugs that are either foreign, or not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Further, of the over ten thousand “Not Recommended” sites, 87% can be traced to affiliate networks of rogue Internet drug outlets.
The report cites alarming trends among fake online pharmacy operations, including thousands of websites illegally distributing medications and putting at risk the health of the consumers who use them, while avoiding any legal responsibility. The report highlights the need for policies among domain registrars, forbidding illegal use of websites, and urges them to take more accountability for shutting down the rogue pharmacy sites. The report also emphasizes how the .PHARMACY Top-Level Domain (TLD) Program was launched by NABP as a way to protect consumers from rogue pharmacy sites.
Visit NABP’s AwareRx Website for the full report with detailed findings on the characteristics of rogue websites and the list of Not Recommended sites. In addition, be sure to check all online pharmacy sites before you buy using our LegitScript Pharmacy Verification Tool, and educate yourself about the dangers of illegitimate online pharmaceuticals and pharmacies.
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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.