Internet Drugs Survey Shows 1 In 4 GPs Has Treated Patients For Complications, UK

Featured Article
Main Category: Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 16 Apr 2009 - 11:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

A UK survey of GPs found that one in four had treated patients for complications linked to use of drugs they had bought over the internet, prompting doctors, regulators and pharmacists to warn patients to be careful about buying drugs online, of which many may be fake.

A number of media reports refer to a survey by GP Magazine that found while 25 per cent of the 423 responding UK doctors said they had treated patients for side effects linked to the use of drugs bought over the internet, another 8 per cent said they were not sure but they may have done. Only 15 per cent said they did not think that internet drug sales should be more tightly regulated.

According to the survey, doctors are seeing side effects like insomnia, weight loss, anxiety, panic attacks linked to the use of drugs sourced on the internet, and some patients have also been sold fake drugs claiming to be Viagra.

Dr Bill Beeby, of the British Medical Association's GPs' committee said he was concerned about people buying drugs for conditions like erectile dysfunction from online pharmacies.

He said buying drugs on the internet was a "minefield", and people can't be sure what they are getting.

"I wouldn't advise any of my patients to go down that route," he told GP magazine, according to a report in the Telegraph.

Experts have been warning for some time that fake drugs are being sold on the internet. For example in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers two years ago that fake drugs with potentially serious side effects were being sold on the internet, many on websites that were outside of the US.

It is important that patients consult with their GP before taking prescription only drugs so they get a correct prescription and understand any potential side effects. Going to a pharmacy also gives you the opportunity to talk to a qualified pharmacist about any contra-indications, for instance will the drug interact with any other medications, or is it known to trigger particular allergies.

According to estimates from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, over 2 million people in Britain are regular buyers of drugs over the internet, and the figure is rising.

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK told the BBC that anyone who medicates themselves using drugs bought online should be aware that they could be buying fakes or substandard medicines, even from legitimate online pharmacies.

"At best these will be a waste of money, at worst they can kill," he said.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has a logo that identifies legitimate online sites and they are also raising awareness about counterfeit online drugs. They said that a genuine online pharmacy must show the logo on the website, they must provide the address and registration details of the pharmacist, they should not offer prescription-only medicines without asking for a prescription, and they should ask questions.

The Society's director of policy, David Pruce, said people should only buy drugs online from wesbites that belong to "bricks and mortar" pharmacies.

Sources: BBC, Telegraph, MNT archives.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD


Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

• Additional
• References
• Citations