The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) has launched a new Internet Pharmacy Logo, designed to be a visual tool to help the public identify if a website is being operated by a bona fide pharmacy in Britain.
The move follows research by the society which showed that over 2m people across Britain now regularly purchase medicines via the web.
A RPSGB spokesperson told E-Health Insider: “While a number of legitimate pharmacies provide online pharmacy services, there are also a number of suppliers operating from websites offering to sell medicines who have no professional qualifications or healthcare expertise.
“In many cases, medicines purchased from such sites are counterfeit, substandard or unapproved new drugs, which put public safety at risk. The new logo will be visible on the homepage of participating online pharmacies and features the unique RPSGB membership number of the pharmacy operating.”
The research also found that almost a third of people admit to not having a clue about online regulation and as all pharmacies across Britain, including those offering internet services, must be registered with the RPSGB, the society hopes that visitors will check for the logo to ensure the legitimacy of a website
The new logo will be visible on the homepage of participating online pharmacies and features the unique RPSGB membership number of the pharmacy operating the site.
A link from the logo to the RPSGB registration pages allows visitors to check the legitimacy of a website and the pharmacists running the practice before making a purchase.
RPSGB director of practice and quality improvement, David Pruce, said: “The internet presents a real danger to people’s health. Dishonest traders are selling medicines online without any relevant professional qualifications or healthcare expertise. The products they sell can be poor quality at best and dangerous at worst. People who wish to buy medicines over the net should do it at a legitimate registered online pharmacy.
“Pharmacists are experts in medicines and can lawfully and safely supply them over the internet. The public must be vigilant and we recommend that they use the presence of this logo in conjunction with a routine of checks when deciding whether or not it is safe to buy.”
The logo, a voluntary scheme, was trialled successfully following a pilot of 20 online pharmacies during 2007. Only registered online pharmacies can now use the Internet Pharmacy Logo.
The RPSGB is advising members of the public to make other checks in addition to looking for the Internet Pharmacy Logo when buying medicines online, including checking the registration status of the pharmacist, looking for the name and address of the pharmacy operating the website - as it should be connected to a “bricks and mortar” pharmacy, and they should avoid websites that offer to supply prescription-only medicines without a prescription.
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