Not a good buy: Value for money of prescription drugs sold on the Internet

Levaggi, Rosella; Marcantoni, Claudio; Filippucci, Laura; Gelatti, Umberto

doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.05.003

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This may be due to a person deciding to self‐medicate or to access cheaper medication for those who do have prescriptions but have trouble affording their medications. This raises several concerns, including harm that may result from the absence of the monitoring a person may receive when being prescribed a medication under a physician′s care; the purchasing of poor quality medications; and the limited evidence that substances like modafinil have the intended off‐label effect .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Dursun

Dunn

McKay

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction and Aims Prescription medications are readily accessible on both the dark and surface web. This study focuses specifically on modafinil. Modafinal is a medication that is used to treat sleepiness due to a range of sleep disorders, but is also used off‐label as a cognitive enhancer. This study aimed to evaluate surface websites which sold modafinil to Australia to provide an overview of and to document the characteristics of surface web retailers. Design and Methods An online search to identify online retailers selling modafinil was performed using three search engines. Retailers were included if they sold modafinil to Australia, as verified through the purchasing process. Thirteen retailers were included in the final sample. Results Most retailers sold more than one product, with products being sold in tablet form the most common (88%). Retailers offered products of multiple strength, with the 200 mg product most common (51%). Most retailers included information on the side effects of the substances (77%), few listed any supporting evidence. Few listed information regarding legal status (24%). Most retailers used a number of features to indicate legitimacy. Discussion and Conclusion This is the first study to document the characteristics of surface web retailers purporting to sell modafinil to Australia. Future studies may analyse purchased samples to identify potential counterfeit or poor‐quality medications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Dursun

Dunn

McKay

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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“…The patient safety risk attached to the online purchasing of shortage drugs involves questionable sourcing, poor quality, falsification, improper storage and transportation [ 50 – 52 ]. Further, there are not only medical but also financial consequences associated with procuring medications from the web as the price of online drugs is documented to be much higher than offered by traditional brick and mortar pharmacies [ 53 – 55 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unregulated online pharmacies are willing to supply prescription only drugs without valid medical prescriptions, use falsified verification logos and conceal their contact details [ 32 , 40 , 46 , 57 ]. In addition, professional aspects of safe medication use are deteriorated by unethical marketing practices [ 55 ], absence of product information or valid live contact with healthcare professionals (pharmacist or physician) [ 53 , 56 , 58 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A challenge for healthcare but just another opportunity for illegitimate online sellers: Dubious market of shortage oncology drugs

et al. 2018

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IntroductionDrug shortages mean a challenge to healthcare systems. Exposed patients or health care providers may seek alternative resources for these products online. The purpose of our study was to analyze the online availability of oncology shortage drugs at national and at international levels in 2014 and 2016.MethodsWe tested the online accessibility of oncology shortage drugs by simulating the Internet search method of patients. Search results were evaluated according to operational, distributional, and patient safety characteristics.ResultsIn 2014 and 2016 all (100%) antineoplastic agents affected by shortages were available on the Internet without medical prescription. The number of relevant websites among search engine results has decreased from 112 to 98, while online vendors actually offering oncology shortage drugs for sale has risen from 66.1% to 80.6% within relevant websites in the two evaluated years. None of the online sellers were classified as legitimate or accredited by LegitScript and VIPPS online pharmacy verification databases.ConclusionAccording to our findings shortage oncology drugs are widely available online. To manage shortages and illegal Internet trade national and international standardized shortage reporting and information systems, regularly updated Internet pharmacy verification databases are needed. As well, institutional procurement and medication use review policies are required.

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“…Most cyber pharmacies required credit card/Western Union/MoneyGram's payments (National Drug Intelligence Centre, ; Cordaro et al, ; Mazer et al, ). Some websites used popular/renowned professional carriers offering to deliver internationally/overseas, although the exact amount of shipping costs was often not known until the end of the transaction (Levaggi et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiling online recreational/prescription drugs' customers and overview of drug vending virtual marketplaces

Orsolini

Francesconi

Papanti

et al. 2015

Human Psychopharmacology

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The internet and social networking sites play a significant role in the marketing, sale and the distribution of drugs. The internet is being used both as a source of information and communication but also as a tool to disseminate drug-related websites and sell controlled substances without prescriptions. Our review aims to obtain knowledge concerning the profile of the online drug consumer and the determinants of internet preference. PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus databases were searched without any language limitations by using a set of keywords. For each set of keywords we evaluated all articles providing socio-demographic characteristics of online drug consumers; reasons for purchasing online drugs; risks related to the online shopping of medicaments and features of illicit/legitimate commercial sites. All data has been analysed and compared for these specified clusters. Results report a majority of Caucasian males in their twenties, both in internet users and drug user/abusers. Several studies reported that the men usually perceive less risks, are more likely to turn to the internet as a source of prescription drugs and, subsequently, more likely to buy drugs and illegal substances online. On the other hand, women were noted as more likely to search for health information. The protection of identity by screen pseudonyms, variety and quality of product listings, selection of vendors based on review feedbacks, reduced personal risks, forum activity and the availability of a service for prescriptiononly drugs stimulate the growth and development of both OPs and drug marketplaces.

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Not a good buy: Value for money of prescription drugs sold on the Internet

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

A challenge for healthcare but just another opportunity for illegitimate online sellers: Dubious market of shortage oncology drugs

Profiling online recreational/prescription drugs' customers and overview of drug vending virtual marketplaces

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