Author: Yu Han
Recently, the media survey found that net sales of prescription drugs there are still many loopholes. Adding levofloxacin eye drops to the shopping cart on the takeaway platform, submitting patient information, and before describing the condition, an electronic prescription from the Internet hospital was completed in seconds. Although there is no pharmacist’s signature, the system automatically displays that the review has been passed. After the merchant receives the order, the medicine enters the delivery link immediately.
prescription drugs are different from non-prescription drugs. Under normal circumstances, they can only be purchased and used through a prescription issued by a professional medical staff. With the liberalization of online drug sales channels, some Internet platforms such as e-commerce and takeaway have also begun to sell prescription drugs online. Of course, the seller must have obtained a drug business license.
For the majority of patients, the liberalization of online sales of prescription drugs has brought great convenience. Because many common diseases can be judged by personal experience, placing orders through the Internet and delivering them to your door is highly efficient and may reduce costs. Moreover, for some chronic diseases, the medication itself is relatively fixed. Buying online saves the trouble of going to the hospital to prescribe.
But in reality, the threshold for online sales of prescription drugs on some platforms is too low, and the lack of strict supervision and review also gives rise to considerable medication risks.
For example, media reports mentioned that on takeaway platforms, online prescription drug consultation information and diagnosed diseases are all filled out by individuals. Offline medical prescriptions, medical records, hospitalization and discharge records are key information that can be used to determine the condition. Fill in the optional items. Moreover, without any online consultation, an electronic prescription can be issued "in seconds".
Without professional medical personnel to review and check, whether the medical information filled in by users is true and accurate, there is undoubtedly a lot of uncertainty. From the perspective of patients, they may not deliberately make fakes or fabricate their illnesses, but many diseases may not be able to be judged by personal experience alone. After all, patients are not professional doctors.
takes into account that prescription drugs often have certain toxicity or other potential effects. If the condition is not consulted, the purchase of drugs is not reviewed, once the wrong drug is used or the dosage is inaccurate, it will pose a huge health risk. For example, there have been cases in Shanghai where women died after taking prescription drugs online.
is actually taking into account the safety risks. For a long period of time, domestic online sales of prescription drugs have been closed. During the revision process of the "Drug Administration Law", the industry once caused great controversy on whether to allow online sales of prescription drugs. In the end, the policy level still liberalized the online sales model in accordance with the principle of tolerance and prudence, but this liberalization still has strict regulatory prerequisites.
For example, in accordance with the revised "Drug Administration Law", online drug sales should adhere to the same online and offline standards and the principle of integrated supervision, including obtaining business licenses, and having qualified pharmacists or other pharmaceutical technicians. The "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Drug Online Sales" that
is collecting opinions also require that when pharmaceutical retail companies sell prescription drugs online, they should ensure that the source of electronic prescriptions is authentic and reliable, and conduct prescription dispensing reviews in accordance with relevant requirements.
As reported by the media, the platform easily prescribes electronic prescriptions to consumers on the premise that there are no consultations, review of pharmacists, deployment, review of pharmacists, and verification and distribution of pharmacists, which obviously does not comply with relevant regulations. Although it has brought great convenience to some patients, it also severely magnifies the safety risks of medication.
Anyway, drug safety matters a lot. From consultation to prescription issuance, there is a high degree of professionalism. The platform should not lower the threshold for auditing in order to attract users and increase traffic. In order to avoid accidents caused by the abuse of prescription drugs, it is necessary to strictly follow the relevant regulatory regulations and strictly review the condition and medical history information.
At the same time, at the macro level, it is necessary to promote the networking of pharmaceutical retail companies and medical information systems as soon as possible. If the two can be fully connected, some of the patients’ medical consultation information can be synchronized to the retail end, which ensures the condition and prescriptions on the one hand The authenticity and reliability of the source reduces the risk. On the other hand, patients can also enjoy the convenience of buying drugs online.
Source: Guangming Daily Client
