Bill Introduced in House To Allow Americans To Order Prescription Drugs from Canada Online
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) last Thursday introduced a bill (HR 5217) that would allow individuals to order and import prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies over the Internet, Technology Daily reports (Albanesius, Technology Daily/PM 7/26). The legislation also would establish new disclosure requirements for online pharmacies and other measures to help individuals "distinguish the legitimate sites from unscrupulous profit schemes," Brown said. In addition, the bill would direct the FDA to study the issue of prescription drug reimportation from Canada before "deciding whether such imports should be prevented." Hundreds of U.S. seniors purchase prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies, where medications can cost as much as 25% less than in U.S. pharmacies, Brown said, adding, "My bill prevents (the) FDA from arbitrarily taking that option away from seniors" (Riskind, Columbus Dispatch, 7/28). For more iHealth & Technology stories, visit iHealthBeat.org, a new Web publication sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.
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