Patients are being issued warnings about the consequences of fake medicines following the discovery of only 54% of people felt they wouldn’t have any trouble spotting a fake online pharmacy. A recent survey from an online pharmacy unveiled that 44% of people would only be reassured of the genuinity of an online pharmacy if it had a ‘bricks and mortar’ store. We asked 1,000 adults, to which 40% answered they believed they had come across an online pharmacy that was fraudulent. It is vital for all online pharmacies to display a Government logo on their website to show they are legally allowed to sell and dispatch medicines and prescriptions. However, only 39% of respondents had knowledge of industry logos as a mark of authentic pharmacies. Stuart Gale, who runs Frost Pharmacy Group, had the following to say about the purchase of counterfeit drugs: “The convenience of an online pharmacy, along with the discretion such a service provides for managing certain embarrassing conditions, is clearly something which appeals to customers. “However, with so many counterfeit medicines making their way onto the market and almost daily horror stories of people suffering and even dying from taking them, it is not surprising that consumers don’t know where to turn.” A mandatory logo was introduced last year by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to display on each website page of any website offering medicines for sale to the general public. This logo, alongside the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC), are somewhat ‘seals of approval’ to show patients that the pharmacy they are purchasing from is legally allowed to dispense medicines and prescriptions. While 95% of people stated they’d buy medicines from an online pharmacy, 41% responded that they hadn’t used an online service for fear it would be counterfeit. Mr Gale, who is the manager of Oxford Online Pharmacy, said there are simple check people can make to ensure it is a legitimate business. He continued to say: “Any steps taken by the industry to reassure consumers is to be encouraged. But, as our research shows, the message isn’t getting through.” Another thing you can do is to check if the site is linked to a registered UK pharmacy and if the link works, whether people can call and speak to a pharmacist, whether it has the MHRA and GPhC logos on it, and whether the website is offering prescriptiononly medication without a prescription.
Mr Gale added: “Prescription only medication is prescription only for a reason. It requires the involvement of a GP enabling them to diagnose the condition and identify the best medicine to treat the individual patient. “If a site is offering Viagra, for example, without a prescription, the message is simple: do not buy it it is illegal and there is a strong chance that what you are buying will be fake and could adversely affect your health.”