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PORTLAND, Ore. — Online pharmacy verifier LegitScript.com has partnered with SiteJabber.com to help consumers identify trustworthy prescription drug web sites and avoid fraudulent ones.
Portland-based LegitScript.com is deemed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as the only independent online pharmacy verification program adhering to NABP standards. The company has classified more than 35,000 prescription drug sites as "rogue" and approved over 300 Internet pharmacies as legitimate.
The agreement between the two companies will give visitors to SiteJabber.com, a San Francisco-based online consumer protection service, information about whether LegitScript has approved a prescription drug site as legitimate or designated it as "rogue" — that is, acting in violation of drug safety laws, such as the sale of counterfeit drugs.
Meanwhile, visitors to LegitScript.com will be able to take advantage of SiteJabber.com’s user interface to rate and share positive and negative information about legitimate and illicit Internet prescription drug web sites.
The companies said the information-sharing functionality regarding web sites identified as legitimate online pharmacies has been completed, while the information-sharing component for rogue prescription drug sites is slated for completion in April.
"Internet users are a tremendously important source of information about whether a web site meets our standards, or is acting fraudulently and unsafely," John Horton, president of LegitScript.com, said in a statement. "Partnering with companies like SiteJabber.com gives our users an additional voice in helping to keep the Internet safe."
SiteJabber said its goal is to improve online transparency and make the Internet a better place for all consumers. On its web site, the company states its mission as "to help people avoid fraudulent web site and find the sites they will love," including through community reviews.
"For consumers, determining the legality and trustworthiness of online pharmacies can be next to impossible. We at SiteJabber are excited to bring the hundreds of thousands of consumers who visit SiteJabber.com every month the useful insights on online pharmacies provided by LegitScript," commented Jeremy Gin, co-founder of SiteJabber.com.
A review released late last year by the NABP finds more than 5,000 web sites selling prescription drugs as noncompliant with U.S. pharmacy laws and practice standards designed to safeguard public health.
In the section of its web site about buying medicine online, the NABP provides links to LegitScript.com, which checks the legitimacy of pharmacy sites against a database, and to Pharmahelper, which lets consumers research prescription drugs and compare prices at verified online pharmacies.
The Food and Drug Administration in November took action to crack down on rogue Internet pharmacies as part of a worldwide initiative to curb illegal activity involving medical products.
