Continued NABP Actions Vital to Protecting Public from Rogue Internet Drug Outlet Dangers, Task Force Advises

Originally published in the August 2012 NABP Newsletter

Applying for the .pharmacy generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD), supporting relevant legislation, and educating consumers, health care providers, and law enforcement, are among the many actions NABP should continue to undertake in order to protect the public health from Internet drug outlets, as agreed by the 2011-2012 NABP Task Force on Internet Pharmacy Practice. Task force members discussed the complex network of operations behind rogue Internet drug outlets to determine how such entities can be shut down, and made several recommendations in this regard. Further, members discussed the importance of continuing to share NABP’s research findings on rogue Internet drug outlets with both United States and international regulators, law enforcement, and other stakeholders. Members also agreed that the Association should take additional actions to support boards of pharmacy efforts to help shut down rogue Web sites illegally selling drug products.

The Task Force on Internet Pharmacy Practice met March 6-7, 2012, at NABP Headquarters and accepted their charge as follows:

1. Review existing Internet pharmacy practices;
2. Review current state laws and regulations, Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites^CM (VIPPS^®) program standards, and NABP Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy language; and
3. Examine future opportunities and challenges in an emerging global environment.

The full article includes a summary of the task force recommendations, as well as background information, and is available in the August 2012 NABP Newsletter (PDF) (page 151).