Fw: More consumers going north to acquire prescription drug..Medicare too

[Guest guest]



FYI!

This is a rather frightening idea! Who knows what anyone will really get, and the dosages!!!

MM

PS - Comments Please!

Martha Murdock, DirectorNational Silicone Implant Foundation | Dallas Headquarters"Supporting Survivors of Medical Implant Devices"4416 Willow LaneDallas, TX 75244-7537

----- Original Message ----- From: ParfumGigi@...

MAM-NSIF@... ; frontiers20k@...

Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 4:19 AM

Subject: More consumers going north to acquire prescription drug..Medicare too

More consumers going north to acquire prescription drug

To save money, consumers are increasingly buying prescription drugs from other countries, a practice the federal government says is generally illegal and usually risky. However, aside from issuing warnings to consumers, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials are turning their heads. "The thing is that the Border Patrol — really, they turn a blind eye to this. This is not something they enforce because there are busloads of seniors that go over to Canada," said Morie Kiusalaas, associate state director for AARP in Colorado. "We don't encourage it, yet at the same time, we understand why our membership does it." Coloradans are less likely to cross the border than residents to the north, Kiusalass said, but Canadian pharmacies can offer drastic savings to Americans willing to buy drugs online. "There is a market there because these companies are cropping up," she said. "If there was prescription drug coverage under Medicare, people would not have to leave our borders to get medicine." Denver-based Canadianmedsusa.com says Canada's prescription drugs generally cost 30 percent to 50 percent less than drugs in the United States. In March, the company compared its prices with AARP's online pharmacy. Equal doses of the allergy drug Claritin cost $84.26 in Canada and $247.96 in the U.S.; anti-inflammatory Celebrex cost $64.13 and $139.59 through AARP. The FDA is charged with administering the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits the interstate shipment of unapproved new drugs. Unapproved new drugs are any drugs, including foreign-made versions of U.S.-approved drugs, that have not received FDA approval saying they meet federal requirements for safety and effectiveness. "Probably nothing that is coming into the United States from outside the U.S. borders is the FDA-approved product," said an official with the FDA who refused to give his name. Local public relations staff have been banned from giving interviews on this subject and would not comment for this article. "You are pretty much running a risk." The FDA says imported drugs could be old, contaminated or counterfeit. Drugs sold in the United States must have proper labeling that conforms with the FDA's requirements, and manufacturing plants must be registered with the agency — whether they are domestic or foreign — and meet certain requirements. Officials from Canadian Meds USA Inc. did not return phone calls. Its Web site says Canada has "exceptionally high standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing, along with a rigorous approval system." The company says it will not send any drug that does not have an approved version in the U.S. "Many of the drugs sold in Canada are exactly the same as those sold in the United States," the Web site states. "Other drugs are manufactured in Canada and are the version sold in Canada. Some drugs may have a different name or look different than the one you are familiar with in the U.S." The FDA has adopted guidance on importing prescription drugs for personal use, which it says recognizes "there may be circumstances in which the FDA can exercise discretion to not take action against the illegal importation." The guidelines were first adopted in 1954 and modified in 1988 to respond to concerns that certain AIDS treatments were not available in the United States. The guidance allows individuals with serious conditions, such as a rare form of cancer, to get treatments that are legally available in foreign countries but are not approved in the United States. The current policy, which the agency says falls under "enforcement discretion," is not law or regulation but serves as guidance for FDA personnel. "That policy is still on the books," the FDA official said, "but it was never meant for things that were available from a U.S. pharmacy." The FDA has told the U.S. Customs Service to allow people to bring in 30-day supplies of prescription drugs, the FDA official said. "There are so many people doing it right now," he said, "it would be very difficult to stop all this right now." The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, which represents drug and biotechnology companies, opposes a plan to allow consumers to reimport FDA-approved drugs that are manufactured in the U.S. and exported. "Instead of debating a bill that would unravel the safety net that keeps our medicine supply safe," PhRMA President Alan Holmer said in a statement, "Congress should focus on reaching agreement on a Medicare drug benefit that provides seniors with quality affordable prescription drug insurance coverage." Online consultations show promise Online communication between doctors and patients can save time and money and even improve satisfaction, according to preliminary results of a study of one such system. RelayHealth Corp. in Emeryville, Calif., which makes the system, says the study evaluated a year-long pilot program involving two health plans and 10 large, self-insured employers. About 280 physicians and 3,690 patients participated. Participating physicians were reimbursed $25 per Web visit, and patient co-payments ranged from nothing to $10 per Web consultation. "RelayHealth online consultations improve care while saving time and money for patients and physicians," Bruce Bodaken, CEO of Blue Shield of California, said in a statement. "In light of these strong results, Blue Shield will work with RelayHealth to expand reimbursement for doctor/patient Web visits across both our PPO and HMO product lines." 20/20 did an in depth investigation, the medications are exactly the sameones you purchase in the US, at an extremely inflated cost. We should allpurchase medications out side this pharmaceutical rip off, by many of thesame pharma co's who are totally liable for toxically poisoning us. Mypersonal physician who retired, and was one of the most out standingphysician's in his area of practice, purchases all of his meds. from Canada. This has been posted on all the news sources, the FDA can't be trusted. I'll send you link latter, my son's been visiting with me today yeah *