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News
Flash:
Drug Companies Ordering Canadian
Pharmacies to Stop
Shipping Drugs to US
(If
your patients are effected by the high cost of drugs,
see info at the end of this article)
The controversy of cross-border prescription sales continues to
take new twists and turns. Discount Drugs of Canada announced
Wednesday that for the past few months it has saved
"thousands of customers" money by taking their American
prescriptions and having them filled by one of several
participating pharmacies—promoting what has become a
much-frowned-upon practice of importing pharmaceuticals from
Canada to American residents.
Discount Drugs of Canada is a
mail-order pharmacy based in Delray Beach, Fla.
The announcement comes on the heels
of reports that GlaxoSmithKline has ordered Canadian online
mail-order pharmacies to stop shipping its drugs to U.S.
consumers. If pharmacies did not comply, GlaxoSmithKline would
simply stop supplying them as soon as Jan. 21.
The Canadian International Pharmacy
Association has spoken out against GlaxoSmithKline on this issue,
arguing that Canadian pharmacies are just as safe and regulated as
closely as U.S.-based pharmacies.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration warns consumers against buying medicines online,
unless it is a U.S.-based online pharmacy licensed by the National
Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Under the federal Food, Drug
and Cosmetic Act, it is illegal to import unapproved drugs into
the country.
In recent years, Congress passed a
law easing access of Canadian drugs, but Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson has not yet certified the law, citing
safety concerns of drugs imported from Canada.
"It's a crime that senior
citizens on fixed incomes in the world's richest country are
forced to pay exorbitant prices for their prescriptions-in many
cases hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month out of their
pockets-when our neighbor and friend, Canada, is able to produce
and sell the same brand name and generic drugs for as much as 50
percent to 75 percent less," reported Earle Turow, founder
and owner of Discount Drugs of Canada.
In addition to a prescription
signed by an American doctor, Discount Drugs of Canada requires
its customers to sign a power of attorney release form.
www.diabetesmeds.org
is a company that can help with those patients that cannot
afford their medications. Find
out how your patients can get all of their medications for just 10
dollars for a 3 months supply.
For
information on how you can have your patients get the drugs they
need, go to www.diabetesmeds.org
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