Federal regulators want disclosure legislation for online pharmacies

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission wants Congress to make Internet pharmacies disclose information about the businesses selling the drugs and the doctors prescribing them online.

As consumers increasingly enjoy the cost-savings and convenience of buying medicine over the Internet, authorities have been frustrated in their attempts to enforce laws because many Web sites do contain adequate identifying information, according to the FTC.

"State authorities appear to have laws that are substantively adequate to stop irresponsible prescribing and dispensing of drugs via the Internet," said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The real challenge lies in dealing with the logistical difficulties of identifying responsible parties and enforcing laws across states boundaries."

Berstein was to testify today before the House Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations about the need for new laws covering Internet pharmacies.

The FTC says the sites should contain the name, address and phone number of the pharmacy that will dispense the drugs and where that pharmacy is licensed to do business. Similar information also should be provided about physicians who prescribe drugs over the Internet, as well as the states where that physician is licensed or authorized to practice medicine.

There also should be information about any Internet operator -- separate from the doctor or pharmacy -- who is offering the drugs for sale, including the principal owners of the business.

The site should tell consumers the states from which it will accept orders.

The commission says such disclosures are needed because of the new challenges posed by Internet pharmacies. For example, a consumer might go to a Web site and have an online consultation with an unknown doctor who then prescribes drugs for the pharmacy to dispense.

Prescriptions could be issued without adequate review of a patient's medical history, posing serious health threats, Bernstein said.

It is illegal for doctors to prescribe for patients in a state where they aren't licensed to practice. Licensed doctors also must meet standards of care that in most states require a patient relationship to prescribe drugs.

But authorities can't monitor compliance with these laws if the state in which the Internet doctor is licensed or prescribing from is unknown, Bernstein said.

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