The watchdog is holding a public consultation on proposed new safeguards, including whether online pharmacies should stop supplying certain drugs, such as opiates and opioids, unless further checks are carried out. This includes identifying multiple orders to the same address or using the same payment details.” Its main concerns were about how patients accessed medications online that may be subject to abuse and about the safety of the processes in place.ĭuncan Rudkin, the chief executive of the GPhC, said: “We have set out actions we’re proposing that online pharmacy owners would be expected to take to meet our standards and make sure that people obtain medicines safely online. The GPhC said it investigated 17 cases involving online pharmacies in the year to June. “If you buy something online you should have to go through one central system, regardless of which online pharmacy you visit online, so what you buy can be monitored.” Yasir Abbasi, the clinical director for addiction services at Mersey Care NHS foundation trust, said: “If you are getting multiple prescriptions from one address in the UK, there should be an alert system to make it hard for this to go ahead, just as there are regulation to make sure you cannot buy two boxes of paracetamol at one supermarket … The Guardian reported this month that a clinic set up to help teenagers addicted to Xanax and other prescription drugs is being sought out by adults who use pills purchased online. The news comes as concerns grow about the rising number of people seeking help over prescription pills bought online. Patient care and safety is at the core of our business.” ![]() The Guardian has also discovered that Doctor-4-u and another leading online pharmacy, UK Meds, are being investigated by the GPhC, which regulates pharmacies operating online, although details of what concerns had been raised – even whether they related to multiple ordering – about them could not be revealed.Ī UK Meds spokesperson said: “ a regulated and responsibly run online healthcare portal, which is actively lobbying for the highest safety standards to be introduced across the industry. Last year, Pharmacy2U, which claims it is the UK’s largest online pharmacy, said it dispensed more than 200,000 items to patients in a month. The GPhC said it was not aware of a study that showed the numbers using online pharmacies, but it is likely to be in the thousands. ![]() John Elliott, the IT director at Doctor-4-u’s owner Med Connections, said: “We are constantly investing in our systems to detect this kind of fraudulent activity.” ![]() It said this would not be flagged up on its system.Īfter the Guardian raised the issue, the company said it would put safeguarding measures in place to protect against this problem, “to demonstrate our commitment to making our online pharmacy as safe as possible”. “This happens with insurance and many other industries.”ĭoctor-4-u said it carried out thorough ID checks, but multiple orders to the same address were possible if someone used a different family member’s ID and credit card. “Why do online pharmacies not have the capability to check various accounts linked to the same addresses?” he said. Hundreds of pills were delivered to the same address, but the unusual activity was not flagged on its system. The online pharmacy regulator, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), is calling for stricter measures to be introduced and says it is consulting on whether online pharmacies should stop supplying opiates unless further checks are carried out.ĭavid (not his real name) told the Guardian that his wife, who had an addiction, this year made four orders in a month for the strong opioid dihydrocodeine from the website Doctor-4-u after setting up multiple accounts. ![]() The safeguarding loophole means people can order hundreds of tablets a month.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |