Scott Monteith1, Tasha Glenn2, Rita Bauer3, Jörn Conell3, Michael Bauer3. 1. Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Traverse City Campus, 1400 Medical Campus Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684, USA. Electronic address: monteit2@msu.edu. 2. ChronoRecord Association, Inc., Fullerton, CA 92834, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is increasing use of online pharmacies to purchase prescription drugs. While some online pharmacies are legitimate and safe, there are many unsafe and illegal so-called "rogue" online pharmacies. This study investigated the availability of psychotropic drugs online to consumers in the US, using 5 commonly prescribed drugs for bipolar disorder. METHODS: Using the search term "buy [drug name]" in the Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines, the characteristics of the online pharmacies found on the first two pages of search results were investigated. The availability of the requested dosage and formulations of two brand (Seroquel XR, Abilify) and three generic drugs (lamotrigine, lithium carbonate and bupropion SR) were determined. RESULTS: Of 30 online pharmacies found, 17 (57%) were rated as rogue by LegitScript. Of the 30 pharmacies, 15 (50%) require a prescription, 21 (70%) claim to be from Canada, with 20 of these having a Canadian International Pharmacy association (CIPA) seal on the website. Only 13 of the 20 sites with a CIPA seal were active CIPA members. There were about the same number of trust verification seals on the rogue and legitimate pharmacy sites. Some rogue pharmacies are professional in appearance, and may be difficult for consumers to recognize as rogue. All five brand and generic drugs were offered for sale online, with or without a prescription. However, many substitutions were presented such as different strengths and formulations including products not approved by the FDA. LIMITATIONS: No evaluation of product quality, packaging or purchasing. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotropic medications are available online with or without a prescription. The majority of online pharmacy websites were rogue. Physicians should ask about the use of online pharmacies. For those who choose to use online pharmacies, two measures to detect rogue pharmacies are recommended: (1) only purchase drugs from pharmacies that require a prescription, and (2) check all pharmacy verification seals directly on the website of the certifying organization, every time, before purchase.
BACKGROUND: There is increasing use of online pharmacies to purchase prescription drugs. While some online pharmacies are legitimate and safe, there are many unsafe and illegal so-called "rogue" online pharmacies. This study investigated the availability of psychotropic drugs online to consumers in the US, using 5 commonly prescribed drugs for bipolar disorder. METHODS: Using the search term "buy [drug name]" in the Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines, the characteristics of the online pharmacies found on the first two pages of search results were investigated. The availability of the requested dosage and formulations of two brand (Seroquel XR, Abilify) and three generic drugs (lamotrigine, lithium carbonate and bupropion SR) were determined. RESULTS: Of 30 online pharmacies found, 17 (57%) were rated as rogue by LegitScript. Of the 30 pharmacies, 15 (50%) require a prescription, 21 (70%) claim to be from Canada, with 20 of these having a Canadian International Pharmacy association (CIPA) seal on the website. Only 13 of the 20 sites with a CIPA seal were active CIPA members. There were about the same number of trust verification seals on the rogue and legitimate pharmacy sites. Some rogue pharmacies are professional in appearance, and may be difficult for consumers to recognize as rogue. All five brand and generic drugs were offered for sale online, with or without a prescription. However, many substitutions were presented such as different strengths and formulations including products not approved by the FDA. LIMITATIONS: No evaluation of product quality, packaging or purchasing. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotropic medications are available online with or without a prescription. The majority of online pharmacy websites were rogue. Physicians should ask about the use of online pharmacies. For those who choose to use online pharmacies, two measures to detect rogue pharmacies are recommended: (1) only purchase drugs from pharmacies that require a prescription, and (2) check all pharmacy verification seals directly on the website of the certifying organization, every time, before purchase.
Authors: Jörn Conell; Rita Bauer; Tasha Glenn; Martin Alda; Raffaella Ardau; Bernhard T Baune; Michael Berk; Yuly Bersudsky; Amy Bilderbeck; Alberto Bocchetta; Letizia Bossini; Angela Marianne Paredes Castro; Eric Yat Wo Cheung; Caterina Chillotti; Sabine Choppin; Maria Del Zompo; Rodrigo Dias; Seetal Dodd; Anne Duffy; Bruno Etain; Andrea Fagiolini; Julie Garnham; John Geddes; Jonas Gildebro; Ana Gonzalez-Pinto; Guy M Goodwin; Paul Grof; Hirohiko Harima; Stefanie Hassel; Chantal Henry; Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei; Vaisnvy Kapur; Girish Kunigiri; Beny Lafer; Chun Lam; Erik Roj Larsen; Ute Lewitzka; Rasmus Licht; Anne Hvenegaard Lund; Blazej Misiak; Patryk Piotrowski; Scott Monteith; Rodrigo Munoz; Takako Nakanotani; René E Nielsen; Claire O'Donovan; Yasushi Okamura; Yamima Osher; Andreas Reif; Philipp Ritter; Janusz K Rybakowski; Kemal Sagduyu; Brett Sawchuk; Elon Schwartz; Ângela Miranda Scippa; Claire Slaney; Ahmad Hatim Sulaiman; Kirsi Suominen; Aleksandra Suwalska; Peter Tam; Yoshitaka Tatebayashi; Leonardo Tondo; Eduard Vieta; Maj Vinberg; Biju Viswanath; Julia Volkert; Mark Zetin; Iñaki Zorrilla; Peter C Whybrow; Michael Bauer Journal: Int J Bipolar Disord Date: 2016-08-24
Authors: Rita Bauer; Tasha Glenn; Sergio Strejilevich; Jörn Conell; Martin Alda; Raffaella Ardau; Bernhard T Baune; Michael Berk; Yuly Bersudsky; Amy Bilderbeck; Alberto Bocchetta; Angela M Paredes Castro; Eric Y W Cheung; Caterina Chillotti; Sabine Choppin; Alessandro Cuomo; Maria Del Zompo; Rodrigo Dias; Seetal Dodd; Anne Duffy; Bruno Etain; Andrea Fagiolini; Miryam Fernández Hernandez; Julie Garnham; John Geddes; Jonas Gildebro; Michael J Gitlin; Ana Gonzalez-Pinto; Guy M Goodwin; Paul Grof; Hirohiko Harima; Stefanie Hassel; Chantal Henry; Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei; Anne Hvenegaard Lund; Vaisnvy Kapur; Girish Kunigiri; Beny Lafer; Erik R Larsen; Ute Lewitzka; Rasmus W Licht; Blazej Misiak; Patryk Piotrowski; Ângela Miranda-Scippa; Scott Monteith; Rodrigo Munoz; Takako Nakanotani; René E Nielsen; Claire O'Donovan; Yasushi Okamura; Yamima Osher; Andreas Reif; Philipp Ritter; Janusz K Rybakowski; Kemal Sagduyu; Brett Sawchuk; Elon Schwartz; Claire Slaney; Ahmad H Sulaiman; Kirsi Suominen; Aleksandra Suwalska; Peter Tam; Yoshitaka Tatebayashi; Leonardo Tondo; Julia Veeh; Eduard Vieta; Maj Vinberg; Biju Viswanath; Mark Zetin; Peter C Whybrow; Michael Bauer Journal: Int J Bipolar Disord Date: 2018-09-04
Authors: Juan F Garcia; M Jose Diez; Ana M Sahagun; Raquel Diez; Matilde Sierra; Juan J Garcia; Cristina López; M Nelida Fernandez Journal: Front Vet Sci Date: 2022-02-11