Texas and Canadian pharmacists fight Internet drugs importation

The Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA) has unveiled an advertising campaign and a newly created patient bill of rights. The materials, which will be delivered to 1,200 pharmacies throughout Texas, are designed to make consumers aware of their rights as patients and alert them to the fact that they are signing away these rights when ordering drugs from foreign countries over the Internet.

“We want to convey the message to the citizens of Texas that buying drugs from foreign sources not only means jeopardizing your health, but also literally waiving your rights as a patient,” said Eddie Klein, president of TPA. “Most people don’t realize that when you purchase drugs from a foreign Internet pharmacy, you are forced to sign a waiver that gives away your rights as a consumer.”

The TPA’s ad highlights that citizens who are harmed by a medication bought through an Internet pharmacist from another country cannot get their money back on a failed medicine; have any legal recourse if harmed by the medication; obtain detailed information about the drugs they have ingested; or get reimbursed for subsequent health costs that may result from taking the wrong medicine.

To express Canada’s perspective on the importation issue, the TPA invited the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association (OPA) to share their concerns about the effect drug importation will have on the Canadian health care system and its consumers.

“American politicians are using drug importation as a panacea for the ills of their country’s health care system,” said Marc Kealey, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association, which represents pharmacists in Canada’s largest province. “Importation programs, like the ones being considered in Texas, could increase the cost of prescription drugs in Canada and result in possible shortages for our citizens.”

With the recent admission that a popular Canadian Internet Pharmacy, CanaRx, is considering importing its drugs from India, opponents of importation believe their worst fears have been confirmed. “Despite assurances that patients’ medications are coming from Canada, consumers have no way to verify the source of their drugs when they order them over the Internet,” said Dr Marv Shepherd, director of pharmacoeconomic studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

“I’m sure people who import drugs from CanaRx’s Web site thought they would be getting their drugs from Canada, but in reality they may be importing them from countries all over the world, possibly India, which has one of the most counterfeit-ridden drug supplies in the entire world,” he continued.