Cyber-pharmacies and emerging concerns on marketing drugs Online
Dr Vinod Scaria
Center for Cybermedicine and Internet Research
CITATION INFORMATION
Scaria V.
Cyber-pharmacies and emerging concerns on marketing drugs Online. Online J Health Allied Scs. 2003;2:1
www.ojhas.org/issue6/2003-2-1.htm
CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER PHARMACIES
1) Pharmacies that deliver drugs based on valid prescription 2) Pharmacies which have a physician on their panel who initiates the prescription 3) Pharmacies that do not need any prescriptions
RESEARCH ON CYBERPHARMACIES
Eysenbach’s study [1999] on Cyberpharmacies selling Sildenafil Citrate Peterson’s study [2001] on 33 US based Cyberpharmacies Bonakdar’s study[2002] on websites offering Cancer treatment Scaria’s study [2003] on Consumer Information offered by Cyberpharmacies Bessel’s study [2002] on Cyberpharmacies
Major Issues of Concern
Legal/Regulatory Issues Ethical Issues Quality Concerns
Legal/Regulatory Issues
Internet as an anarchic Media
Legal Issues
Licencing and Issues of Cross Border Practice
Legal Issues
Quality Assurance Consumer Reprisal
Ethical Issues
Privacy and Confidentiality Gathering of Sensitive Information Trust
Quality Concerns
Difficulty in analysing Quality of Online Services Reports of Malpractice Concerns of Professional Quality
Screenshot from a website that sells a herbal product claiming "Medically Proven Results", but does not furnish any agreeable evidence to prove their claims
Ensuring Proper Functioning
Ethical Conduct Quality Service Regulatory Framework PROTECTION FROM ADVERSITIES
Need for Evidence
Paucity of Research on the Topic Results vary considerably Paucity of reports of adverse events
Collecting Evidence
DAERI
Database of Adverse Events Related to Internet
E-HARD
E-Health Adversities Research Database