DrugBuyers.Com: Internet Pharmacy Federal Legislation Initiative

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are pushing for legislation to rein in the growing number of Internet pharmacies filling drug orders from patients who may have never seen a doctor.

"Too many people are finding ways to obtain medications online without valid prescriptions," U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Davis said at a hearing on Thursday.

More than 1,000 U.S. Web sites offer prescription drugs without requiring proper documentation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials testified.

Some sites employ physicians to talk with patients on the phone before writing a prescription, usually for a fee based on the number written. Others require no prescription at all.

Sites can also ask patients to fill out a questionnaire about their symptoms and medical history, but those are often ignored, said FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard.

Tracking down rogue sites, however, can be difficult.

In one example, Hubbard said FDA officials bought several prescription drugs from what looked like a China-based Web site. The package arrived with a return address in Miami, a postmark from Texas and a reorder form to be sent to an overseas address in Belize.

"This site has so many convoluted potential sources, we don't know where it is," Hubbard said.

A bill introduced by Davis, a Virginia Republican, would force Web sites to clearly identify their doctors and pharmacists as well as their contact information.

The Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act would also require face-to-face meetings between patients and doctors.

Although states regulate prescriptions, Web sites based in one state and selling to patients in another can cause enforcement headaches, legislators said.

"A Web site operator can be in one state, the pharmacy in a second state and the prescribing physician in a third state," said Ranking Minority Member Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California who co-sponsored the bill.

Under the legislation, states could take a Web pharmacy to federal court, even if that site is based in another state.

Because the bill would only affect U.S.-based Internet pharmacies, it would not impact patients who buy drugs from Web sites based in other countries.