I commend the Chairman for holding today's important hearing. The Internet is transforming all aspects of our society, including health care. The Internet also creates new opportunities, however, for scam artists and unprincipled suppliers to market contaminated, expired, inappropriate, or counterfeit medications to unsuspecting patients. So far, existing federal and state laws have had only limited success in protecting consumers.
Some physicians issue prescriptions for patients they have never seen, let alone seriously examined.
Patients can buy prescription drugs off the Internet without adequate safeguards that the drug is appropriate and of high quality. Because websites can be easily created and designed, patients may think they have purchased their medication from a U.S.-licensed pharmacy when, in fact, they have not. The prescription drugs they receive may be sold out of someone's garage or from a business in a country with low standards for how drugs are manufactured, stored, or shipped. All of us recognize the benefits of the Internet. None of us wants to stifle advances in technology and telecommunications.