Canadian internet chemists face licensing curbs

[Said1]

By Bernard Simon in Toronto
Published: December 5 2004 22:07 | Last updated: December 5 2004 22:07

CanadaMany Canadian internet pharmacies supplying Americans with cheap prescription drugs would be forced to close under proposed licensing restrictions.

The restrictions were proposed by regulators in the prairie province of Manitoba, where close to half of the roughly 150 Canadian internet and mail-order pharmacies are based.

The move by the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association (MPhA) reflects growing concern about Canadian doctors "co-signing" huge numbers of US prescriptions without seeing the patient. Under Canadian law, all prescriptions filled in Canada must be signed by a Canadian doctor.

Several Canadian pharmacies have been approved by US states, municipalities and senior-citizen groups, which are campaigning to give Americans easier access to cheaper drugs.

The MPhA has told pharmacies in Manitoba that their licences will not be renewed next year if they "knowingly fill prescriptions that are issued contrary to known provincial medical standards of care", including "co-signed" prescriptions.

Medicines are less expensive in Canada because of price controls and the negotiating muscle of Canada's provincial health insurance plans.

Internet pharmacies face growing pressure on several fronts. Big drug manufacturers, such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, have tried to starve them of supplies by tracking shipments more closely. The strong Canadian dollar has also eroded profits.

Canadian authorities have so far said they will act against the cross-border trade only if it leads to domestic shortages or if patient safety is compromised.

Ujal Dosanjh, the federal health minister, recently raised concerns about the "co-signing" practice. Earlier this year, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons took disciplinary action against a Toronto doctor who earned C$240,000 ($201,000) in six months by signing as many as 500 prescriptions a day for internet pharmacy customers.

Ron Guse, the MPhA's registrar, said the practice "would seem to contravene safe, legal and ethical standards" determined by the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The association's council is dominated by pharmacists, several of whom have criticised the internet drugstores for creating a shortage of qualified pharmacists in the province.

David Mackay, director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, which represents several dozen internet pharmacies, said "we know that one doctor doing hundreds of thousands of files a year is not in the interests of public health".

But, according to Mr Mackay, his members have proposed to limit the prescriptions that a single doctor may sign. "We are spreading our business around to more doctors with fewer files," Mr Mackay said, but the licensing terms proposed by the association "are impossible for us to comply with".

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[Merlin1047]

Hmmmm - wonder if your politicians are as sleazy as ours. If they are, then someone needs to check if there is a money trail leading to someone in politics up there from someone in a pharmaceutical company down here.