Aegate News

Report into online counterfeit drug trade highlights why local pharmacist remains safest source for patient prescriptions

London, July 1 2008, Aegate, the patient safety communications company, today issued its response to the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines' (EAASM) report on the online counterfeit drug trade. According to Aegate, the EAASM report demonstrates why patients should avoid the alarming pitfalls of the online drug industry. The report reveals that while purchasing drugs online was once associated with lifestyle medications such as Viagra, online pharmacies are now supplying life-saving medicines, such as cancer and serious cardiovascular diseases. This development is putting a worrying 3 in every 5 patients at serious risk from the effects of substandard medication.

The report also highlights that 94% of the online pharmacies surveyed do not reference a named verifiable pharmacist and 50% of the medicines purchased do not include a patient information leaflet. This raises serious concerns over how patients can be armed with the correct information to take the drugs as intended. These findings are particularly relevant since Forrester Research estimates that 30-40 per cent of patients do not get the full benefit from their treatment as they are uninformed as to how to take the drug correctly.

Gary Noon, CEO of Aegate, said: "The findings from the report reinforce just why patients should tread so carefully when thinking about purchasing drugs online. Patients would be safer returning to traditional pharmacies that can not only provide them with the reassurance that the medication they are taking is safe, but can also advise them on how to take the medication correctly and spot any potential risks from co-medications. Today the role of the traditional pharmacist is of paramount importance. The professional point of contact between the patient and the pharmacist can provide education, counseling and validation of good quality drugs, all of which are missing from many online pharmacies. The importance of providing accurate information to the patient at the point of dispense should not be underestimated."

Aegate provides a tool to high-street pharmacists that allows pharmacies to be able to provide such reassurance and advice. Their patient safety communication service is currently in operation in three European markets - Belgium, Greece and Italy. It enables the pharmacists to have an enhanced relationship with patients by providing relevant and rapid patient safety information directly from pharmaceutical companies or regulators that they can act on at the point of dispensing.

Jim Thomson, chair of the EAASM, concludes: "We cannot underestimate just how dangerous this illegitimate online drug industry has become to the patient. These criminals are ruthless in their exploitation of people with life-threatening diseases, which is risking their health, and in some cases, their lives. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to raise awareness of the problem and make the patient aware of the pitfalls, while also reminding them how best to ensure the drugs they are prescribed and dispensed are both of good quality and safe to use."