MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — Taking aim at so-called "rogue" online pharmacies, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has endorse the Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011 (S.B. 2002).
NABP said Thursday that it has sent a letter to Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) to express its support for the bill, which would implement such safeguards as a federal registry that would assist consumers in identifying safe Internet pharmacies.
The association noted that the legislation cites the accreditation process of the NABP Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) and Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (Vet-VIPPS) programs. Both are recommended to consumers by the Food and Drug Administration, the Partnership for Safe Medicines, and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP).
"In researching the vast number and characteristics of illegal drug outlets in operation, NABP has found that of the 8,789 sites reviewed, 96% — or 8,456 — are operating out of compliance with state and federal laws and/or NABP patient safety and pharmacy practice standards," NABP president Malcolm Broussard said in a statement. "To inform regulators, health care providers and law enforcement of the latest data on the sites included in the NABP Not Recommended list, NABP continues to provide quarterly reports of the Association’s Internet Drug Outlet Identification program."
NABP noted that the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and ASOP also issued letters of support for the legislation.
NACDS emphasized in its statement that the legislation takes important steps "to protect the American public from unscrupulous Internet drug sellers that prey on unsuspecting Americans by posing as legitimate pharmacies while deceptively selling counterfeit, adulterated or misbranded medicines," according to NABP. And ASOP stated that the "bill takes a critical first step to update and enhance U.S. law to protect patients from the growing number of illegitimate and unsafe online drug sellers that prey on consumers" and that the bill would help to "ensure access to safe and law-abiding online pharmacies."
