Full Version: Ill. goes online for Prescription Drugs
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Ignoring a Federal ban on the import of prescription drugs purchased from Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Tuesday the Illinois will have an online clearing house running within a month.
The U.S Food and Drug Adminstration opposes the import because they say they cannot guarantee the safety of the drugs.
If state employees buy the drugs they will save about 19 million dollars.
If seniors and everyone else buy the prescription drugs the savings would be in the billions.
My question here is Would you buy them online and do you think they are safe?
My feeling is if they are safe enough for Canada, Ireland and the United kingdom then they are safe enough for the people of Illinois.
The U.S Food and Drug Adminstration opposes the import because they say they cannot guarantee the safety of the drugs.
If state employees buy the drugs they will save about 19 million dollars.
If seniors and everyone else buy the prescription drugs the savings would be in the billions.
My question here is Would you buy them online and do you think they are safe?
My feeling is if they are safe enough for Canada, Ireland and the United kingdom then they are safe enough for the people of Illinois.
The entire "safe" issue is just a smokescreen to cover the profits of corporate drug companies in America.
There is no way in God's green earth that somehow, Canada has less safe drug industry than us, I can't even believe that the Bush administration and supporters of the ban think we are stupid enough to believe this!
If I could wave a wand and change things- I would confiscate all posesions of all drug company CEOs, thier lawyers and thier lobbyiest, and make them destitute, it is so immoral for this to continue.
There is no way in God's green earth that somehow, Canada has less safe drug industry than us, I can't even believe that the Bush administration and supporters of the ban think we are stupid enough to believe this!
If I could wave a wand and change things- I would confiscate all posesions of all drug company CEOs, thier lawyers and thier lobbyiest, and make them destitute, it is so immoral for this to continue.
Yes I probably will use it since I have one drug I am currently taking. And on the note of if it is safe or not Illinois will be doing the same things they do for Pharmacies within the state. In order to become a certified participating pharmacy there will be an inspection of the pharmacies.
Illinois offering out of country Pharmacies
Illinois offering out of country Pharmacies
QUOTE
Illinois will contract with a Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) to establish a clearinghouse of state-inspected and approved pharmacies and wholesalers in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The new system will be available on-line and will be the first in the United States to reach beyond Canada to meet the growing demand for affordable drugs, and to provide ongoing state oversight of foreign pharmacies.
Of course it's safe. As CruisingRam said, the whole "they don't monitor their drugs as well as we do" line is just a way to protect their obscene profit margins in this country.
Heck, most of the drugs Illinois will be getting, were most likely produced in the US, and exported to these countries in the first place. We'll just be re-importing them from where they were made originally.
I would have no problem at all ordering prescriptions from one of these countries.
Heck, most of the drugs Illinois will be getting, were most likely produced in the US, and exported to these countries in the first place. We'll just be re-importing them from where they were made originally.
I would have no problem at all ordering prescriptions from one of these countries.
Well, not so fast...
As I’ve stated previously, I think it’s a good idea to allow seniors and lower income individuals to purchase drugs from Canada. But, I agree with the President that we have to be certain that these drugs are safe.
Also…
From another source:
And lastly,
As I’ve stated previously, I think it’s a good idea to allow seniors and lower income individuals to purchase drugs from Canada. But, I agree with the President that we have to be certain that these drugs are safe.
QUOTE
WASHINGTON - Several Americans buying medication in Mexico have come back with counterfeit versions of the cholesterol drug Zocor and a generic painkiller, the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
The fake Zocor didn't contain any of the actual cholesterol-lowering ingredient, and the counterfeit carisoprodol was far less potent than real versions of the painkiller, FDA said.
Fake drugs from Mexico spur warning
The fake Zocor didn't contain any of the actual cholesterol-lowering ingredient, and the counterfeit carisoprodol was far less potent than real versions of the painkiller, FDA said.
Fake drugs from Mexico spur warning
Also…
QUOTE
WASHINGTON -- Americans are being duped by rogue Internet pharmacies in distant places such as China and Belize that masquerade as Canadian businesses and sell potentially dangerous fake and unregulated drugs, U.S. regulators say.
A top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official told a U.S. Senate committee yesterday that it's probing at least two bogus sites billing themselves as Canadian-based and selling drugs identified as Canadian generics.
Offshore firms selling diluted, fake drugs as Canadian
A top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official told a U.S. Senate committee yesterday that it's probing at least two bogus sites billing themselves as Canadian-based and selling drugs identified as Canadian generics.
Offshore firms selling diluted, fake drugs as Canadian
From another source:
QUOTE
Counterfeit, mislabeled and mishandled drugs are infiltrating U.S. pharmacies. Although a relatively few medications are now affected, investigators and pharmacists say the problem could spread if regulators don’t tighten requirements for drug wholesalers.
Examples include:
* Vials of Procrit and Epogen, which treat anemia, have been found to contain 20 times less active ingredient than labeled.
* A fake form of Serostim, used by AIDS patients to prevent muscle wasting, has caused some patients to become ill.
*White pills labeled "aspirin" have been found in bottles of schizophrenia treatment Zyprexa.
* Ten types of counterfeit drugs have been found in Florida in the past two years, including Procrit, Epogen, Serostim, Zyprexa, antifungal Diflucan and AIDS drugs Combivir and Retrovir.
Fake Drugs are Byproduct of the Traditional Model
Examples include:
* Vials of Procrit and Epogen, which treat anemia, have been found to contain 20 times less active ingredient than labeled.
* A fake form of Serostim, used by AIDS patients to prevent muscle wasting, has caused some patients to become ill.
*White pills labeled "aspirin" have been found in bottles of schizophrenia treatment Zyprexa.
* Ten types of counterfeit drugs have been found in Florida in the past two years, including Procrit, Epogen, Serostim, Zyprexa, antifungal Diflucan and AIDS drugs Combivir and Retrovir.
Fake Drugs are Byproduct of the Traditional Model
And lastly,
QUOTE
States such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Iowa and Illinois are studying ways to reduce drug spending by purchasing drugs from Canada. Springfield, Massachusetts, said it saved $2.8 million in the past year by buying from Canada for its workers and pensioners.
In April, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services told three Canadian Internet pharmacies that they violated terms of an agreement to ship only U.S.-approved drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. The medicines had been approved in Canada.
<sip>
In its report, the congressional accounting office said it found that 16 of 18 drugs that investigators bought from Canadian pharmacies weren't approved for sale in the U.S. All of them were chemically comparable, the report said.
Internet Stores Ship Fake Drugs to U.S., Congress Unit Finds
In April, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services told three Canadian Internet pharmacies that they violated terms of an agreement to ship only U.S.-approved drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. The medicines had been approved in Canada.
<sip>
In its report, the congressional accounting office said it found that 16 of 18 drugs that investigators bought from Canadian pharmacies weren't approved for sale in the U.S. All of them were chemically comparable, the report said.
Internet Stores Ship Fake Drugs to U.S., Congress Unit Finds
QUOTE(Beladonna @ Aug 18 2004, 09:14 AM)
As I’ve stated previously, I think it’s a good idea to allow seniors and lower income individuals to purchase drugs from Canada. But, I agree with the President that we have to be certain that these drugs are safe.
But wouldn't you agree that this is what Illinois is doing by working with PBM is to only obtain drugs from certain licensed pharmacies?
In your anecdotal stories, there's no indication if these drugs were purchased from pharmacies licensed by the local governments or just fly-by-night operations operating out of a basement or bar.
I don't buy drugs online unless I know the company. Same as I don't do that OFFLINE either.
We actually have two problems in this country: over charging for drugs and unsafe or bogus drugs. The unsafe or bogus drugs are here now. So is the overcharging, as witnessed below:
Drug Markups
The solution to our present problem with unsafe and bogus drugs is to increase regulation of the drug industry, specifically, inspections. Pharmacists should also be tasked with testing the drugs they dispence. This is simply quality control, nothing new to manufacturing.
The solution to the gouging of people for their prescriptions? Legislation and the slammer. Put a 20% cap on drug profits. Express that we, as a society, will not cotton to ripping off our sick, injured and elderly people.
Now, would I buy drugs from Canada? Hey, I just bought some $5 Hohner harmonicas that were made in China. Why pay $20 a pop when there's a cheaper source for the same thing? Yep, by gosh, it's good old American capitalism at work!
Dang straight I'd buy from Canada. Or China. Or some other place, just as the drug companies buy their active ingredients from overseas.
Consumer rips must be stopped. No wonder all the money's going to the top! And no wonder socialism is looking better all the time as our wonderful leaders keep the crooks legal. Either fix this system or go to another one. That's what's going to come from this and other similar situations.
Drug Markups
The solution to our present problem with unsafe and bogus drugs is to increase regulation of the drug industry, specifically, inspections. Pharmacists should also be tasked with testing the drugs they dispence. This is simply quality control, nothing new to manufacturing.
The solution to the gouging of people for their prescriptions? Legislation and the slammer. Put a 20% cap on drug profits. Express that we, as a society, will not cotton to ripping off our sick, injured and elderly people.
Now, would I buy drugs from Canada? Hey, I just bought some $5 Hohner harmonicas that were made in China. Why pay $20 a pop when there's a cheaper source for the same thing? Yep, by gosh, it's good old American capitalism at work!
Dang straight I'd buy from Canada. Or China. Or some other place, just as the drug companies buy their active ingredients from overseas.
Consumer rips must be stopped. No wonder all the money's going to the top! And no wonder socialism is looking better all the time as our wonderful leaders keep the crooks legal. Either fix this system or go to another one. That's what's going to come from this and other similar situations.
The legitimate drugs are of course perfectly safe and legal; I have just one proviso: I wish you Americans would stop buying them from Canadians (and I'm sure my overseas compatriots would agree.)
In a regulated supply is of course restrained to a degree. Eventually what will happen is the amount of drugs being purchased for export threatens to destabilize prices and supplies in countries that do regulate drug prices. So far this hasn't happened, but it is a real threat.
The safety question is absurd. Would you buy American drugs from an internet website that is hosted in Burma? Of course not. The government claims that Canadian drugs are unsafe borders on slanderous. The people exploiting the drug price backlash in the United States are another matter; but again common sense should prevail over political expediency (blame the Canadian gov't) and the natural tendency to shield the consumer from any sort of responsibility.
In a regulated supply is of course restrained to a degree. Eventually what will happen is the amount of drugs being purchased for export threatens to destabilize prices and supplies in countries that do regulate drug prices. So far this hasn't happened, but it is a real threat.
The safety question is absurd. Would you buy American drugs from an internet website that is hosted in Burma? Of course not. The government claims that Canadian drugs are unsafe borders on slanderous. The people exploiting the drug price backlash in the United States are another matter; but again common sense should prevail over political expediency (blame the Canadian gov't) and the natural tendency to shield the consumer from any sort of responsibility.
My question here is Would you buy them online and do you think they are safe?
I think we'd need a bit more detail to determine if they were safe. If we are talking about drugs from Canada, Ireland and the UK then I think the answer would generally be yes. Unless you have more detail on this proposal I think that this "clearing house" could be selling drugs from more countries than the ones listed and that is where you can get into trouble.
I agree with the president that they should be safe as well, but I do not agree with his methods. His approach is basically to maintain the status quo - if the drugs come from the United States and are regulated by the FDA then they must be safe.
A better plan would be to give the FDA the authority to create a certification and rating system for drugs coming from companies based in other countries. For an increased layer of safety the president could allow only US pharmacies to order drugs from foreign countries for resale in their pharmacy. This would allow them to do a little extra quality control on the drugs and reduce their costs which they could pass on to consumers and gain a competitive advantage for certain drugs. The additional administration cost there would probably be negligible and the net effect would be greatly reduced prices for drugs that consumers and health insurance companies pay for.
This whole issue really comes down to politics at the end of the day. American drug companies essentially have a protected monopoly on drugs because many times only one company has a patent to manufacture a drug. If they say that the drug is $20 a pill then it is $20 a pill, capitalism and competition don't enter into the equation. If we were to open things up to cheaper drugs from foreign countries that essentially eats away at the bottom line of drug companies which donate money to politicians and lobby for laws. The politician that proposes legislation to open the market up so it is actually a free market has to risk the support of these drug companies going to the opposite party.
Personally I'm all for importing foreign drugs and creating a truely free market, but I don't see that happening until politicians change or something catastrophic happens to force the change.
I think we'd need a bit more detail to determine if they were safe. If we are talking about drugs from Canada, Ireland and the UK then I think the answer would generally be yes. Unless you have more detail on this proposal I think that this "clearing house" could be selling drugs from more countries than the ones listed and that is where you can get into trouble.
QUOTE(Beladonna)
But, I agree with the President that we have to be certain that these drugs are safe.
I agree with the president that they should be safe as well, but I do not agree with his methods. His approach is basically to maintain the status quo - if the drugs come from the United States and are regulated by the FDA then they must be safe.
A better plan would be to give the FDA the authority to create a certification and rating system for drugs coming from companies based in other countries. For an increased layer of safety the president could allow only US pharmacies to order drugs from foreign countries for resale in their pharmacy. This would allow them to do a little extra quality control on the drugs and reduce their costs which they could pass on to consumers and gain a competitive advantage for certain drugs. The additional administration cost there would probably be negligible and the net effect would be greatly reduced prices for drugs that consumers and health insurance companies pay for.
This whole issue really comes down to politics at the end of the day. American drug companies essentially have a protected monopoly on drugs because many times only one company has a patent to manufacture a drug. If they say that the drug is $20 a pill then it is $20 a pill, capitalism and competition don't enter into the equation. If we were to open things up to cheaper drugs from foreign countries that essentially eats away at the bottom line of drug companies which donate money to politicians and lobby for laws. The politician that proposes legislation to open the market up so it is actually a free market has to risk the support of these drug companies going to the opposite party.
Personally I'm all for importing foreign drugs and creating a truely free market, but I don't see that happening until politicians change or something catastrophic happens to force the change.
From all your statements to this matter Beladonna Gov. Blagojevich has already assertained the safety measures that will be necessary from the link I provided earlier from the state of Illinois own website.
QUOTE
Illinois will contract with a Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) to establish a clearinghouse of state-inspected and approved pharmacies and wholesalers in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The new system will be available on-line and will be the first in the United States to reach beyond Canada to meet the growing demand for affordable drugs, and to provide ongoing state oversight of foreign pharmacies.
snipet
In May, Gov. Blagojevich dispatched a delegation made up of members of his staff, the Office of Special Advocates for Prescription Drugs and the Departments of Public Health and Professional Regulation to research whether Illinois could look to Europe for safe and affordable prescription drugs.
The Illinois delegation met with representatives from governments, pharmacies, wholesalers, parallel importers, health and insurance funds, and professional and trade associations in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They methodically assessed pharmacy practices, manufacturing practices, warehousing and storage, and distribution and dispensing processes and compared them with Illinois standards and practices. The delegation concluded that Illinois could establish a network of foreign pharmacies that would meet state standards and provide safe medications at much lower prices.
snipet
The Illinois import program will build-in numerous safety measures to ensure the quality and safety of drugs dispensed. The list of available drugs will be limited to those that are used for long periods of time, and that cannot be spoiled during the shipping process. Consumers will be able to order eligible drugs for re-fill only, so patients and their doctors have had time to review for unanticipated side-effects or interactions.
For new enrollees, the U.S. doctors can fax or patients can mail in an original prescription to the clearinghouse where it will be reviewed for appropriateness, and then turned over to a program physician for review. If the program physician approves, he or she will re-write the prescription and submit it to a network pharmacy. The pharmacy will perform a final safety check to comply with local laws and regulations before dispensing the medication. For pre-enrolled patients, the medication will be delivered within two weeks of the day the prescription and order are received by the pharmacy.
All medications will come from the PBM’s network of state inspected and approved providers in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Department of Professional Regulation will work with the PBM to inspect all network pharmacies to ensure they meet the state’s pharmaceutical safety standards.
snipet
In May, Gov. Blagojevich dispatched a delegation made up of members of his staff, the Office of Special Advocates for Prescription Drugs and the Departments of Public Health and Professional Regulation to research whether Illinois could look to Europe for safe and affordable prescription drugs.
The Illinois delegation met with representatives from governments, pharmacies, wholesalers, parallel importers, health and insurance funds, and professional and trade associations in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They methodically assessed pharmacy practices, manufacturing practices, warehousing and storage, and distribution and dispensing processes and compared them with Illinois standards and practices. The delegation concluded that Illinois could establish a network of foreign pharmacies that would meet state standards and provide safe medications at much lower prices.
snipet
The Illinois import program will build-in numerous safety measures to ensure the quality and safety of drugs dispensed. The list of available drugs will be limited to those that are used for long periods of time, and that cannot be spoiled during the shipping process. Consumers will be able to order eligible drugs for re-fill only, so patients and their doctors have had time to review for unanticipated side-effects or interactions.
For new enrollees, the U.S. doctors can fax or patients can mail in an original prescription to the clearinghouse where it will be reviewed for appropriateness, and then turned over to a program physician for review. If the program physician approves, he or she will re-write the prescription and submit it to a network pharmacy. The pharmacy will perform a final safety check to comply with local laws and regulations before dispensing the medication. For pre-enrolled patients, the medication will be delivered within two weeks of the day the prescription and order are received by the pharmacy.
All medications will come from the PBM’s network of state inspected and approved providers in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Department of Professional Regulation will work with the PBM to inspect all network pharmacies to ensure they meet the state’s pharmaceutical safety standards.
I know several people who order drugs from online overseas pharmacies, and they never have had any problems that I'm aware of. I realize this is purely anecdotal, but thought I'd throw it in. Also, I seem to remember seeing a statistic that claimed the majority of online prescriptions are filled in the Netherlands because they have very lax pharmaceutical regulations. Of course there needs to be some overseeing of this, but these pharmaceutical giants need to face reality - they're not getting a bye on the effects of free-market globalization, and why should they?
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