And drugs formerly available only by a doctor s prescription can now be obtained over the Internet, or by answering an ad, without a physical examination or consultation by a physician. These purchases may be convenient and private, but pose new risks to patients - including poisoning, adverse drug interactions and ineffectiveness. But it has its risks and one of them is the Internet purchase of pharmaceuticals. Drugs are available on some web pages to patients who fill out a survey and submit a brief medical history to be reviewed by the pharmaceutical company s doctors, who may be in another state or country. Patients often have no information about the qualifications of the doctors or pharmacists or whether the drug itself is licensed or authentic.
Some sites advertise that no prescription is needed to obtain the otherwise unobtainable drugs.
Others make fraudulent health claims that can lead to needless expenditures of large sums of money for dangerous drug interactions or harm from contaminated or counterfeit drugs. Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher or Netscape 4.5 or higher.