IMPACT OF ELECTRONICS ON PHARMACEUTICAL SALES INDUSTRY

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                        Impact of Electronics of Pharmaceutical Sales Industry

Running Head: IMPACT OF ELECTRONICS ON PHARMACEUTICAL SALES INDUSTRY        

Impact of Electronics of Pharmaceutical Sales Industry

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As increase in sales of pharmaceutical products takes place from children to seniors it has opened up new opportunities for the linkage of information between pharmaceutical companies and e-commerce. Thus information exchanges have had a huge impact on the pharmaceutical sales industry. Internet usage has been the chief contributor in this respect and has provided a greater amount of reliability which was not present before.  

Electronic mail and chat groups have noticeably assisted communications. Information collection that once took several hours or days of research, whether for homework assignment of a student or to look up information on the medical condition of a family member, can now be accomplished in minutes. This fast access to information and data collection has made analysis of situations, products and tasks of people much easier and reliable.

The Internet is quickly changing the way we live, work, and shop in all sectors of the country. Tele-medicine permits individuals in isolated areas to access the knowledge of doctors available in the region at finest academic health centres. The Internet permits a rising amount of persons to get hold of an excess of medical information that frequently helps them to comprehend health issues and treatment options. In actuality, millions of Americans use the Internet every year to find medical information, either in documented resources or via online discussions with health experts. Approximately forty three percent of internet surfers look out for health related information annually.

Prescription drug sales on the Internet can give spectacular benefits to customers. Through online drug sales disabled customers can access drugs easily, at times making a trip to the pharmacy is not possible, people can shop round the clock with no limitation to time, unlimited number of products are available with the privacy of those who are reluctant to share their medical condition in public.

Hyperlinks and search programs present online clients with written product information and references to other sources of information much more effortlessly than in the usual store. Moreover, as the use of computer expertise to transmit prescriptions from doctors to pharmacies enhances, a decrease in prescription errors can be possibly achieved.

While online pharmaceutical sales will be significant for a number of customers, it is seen that traditional "brick and mortar" pharmacy provides certain benefits or services that are regularly not available through the Internet, such as instant access to prescription drugs needed for instant treatment. These pharmacies will unquestionably stay a necessary element in the deliverance of effective health care. Therefore the efficiency of the online pharmacies is there at the cost of their effectiveness. Often health care professionals require check ups to analyze the situation in a better way. Thus at times the online prescriptions may not be effective enough ().

The challenge for government at both the State and Federal level is to follow policies that will allow lawful electronic trade to thrive but provide safety that is assured. Consumers will have assurance in the excellence of the medicinal prescription and in the drug being delivered because the protection for online consumers is equal to the safeguards of the conventional local pharmacy and the exercise of drug and pharmacy.

Concerns about Online Sales

As helpful as this new equipment can be, the Internet also creates a new market for action that is at present considered illegal, online sales of drugs often results is sale of unapproved drugs and drugs also dispensed without valid prescriptions. At times products that are marketed with false health claims are sold through the internet. This increases the illegal trade of health care products and should be checked by the relevant authorities.

As FDA regards the issues connected to online drug sales, we distinguish that there are a variety of websites being used for drug sales. Many websites keep their focus on selling prescription drugs and have been popularly known has ‘Internet Pharmacies.’ All these websites sell FDA approved, unapproved and illegal versions of the prescription drugs. These licensed websites that sell legitimate products provide benefits to their customers not provided by those websites that are un-licensed or involved in illegal selling of prescription drugs. These sites are a serious threat to the health and safety of all American citizens.

Fraudulent health claims are prevalent on several websites which sell unapproved products at times these drugs include drugs for recreational purposes. These products include products used to develop muscles in the body and websites that offer cancer treatments. These sites are involved in false claims and try to entice the customer by making such claims that are not approved by the FDA.

Internet pharmacy is seen by many people as a threat to the health care industry because substances being used in drugs being sold in online pharmacies are not regulated by any authority and are illegal under many standard specifications. Several of these sites operate illegally and unlawfully, strong measures are taken against them by the FDA and regulation and check is regularly carried out ().

The exclusive virtues of the Internet, plus its broad reach, relative anonymity, and ease of creating new websites or removing old ones, pose new challenges for the enforcement of existing laws. These sites are usually composed of multiple links and related sites thus the investigation procedures are very difficult and require more resources. If the websites are made more transparent a check on them would be made much easier. FDA should regulate such websites and their content to protect the interests of the people using them.

FDA has found that most drug sale websites are actually made up of multiple related sites and links, thereby making investigations much more complex and resource intensive. Since the internet is a global it creates problems for the law enforcers to carry out effective law enforcement strategies that can actually check the sale of illegal health products. Different countries have dissimilar laws for drug approval and marketing in their own country which complicates the issues faced by the United States government. The FDA should work with close association with the several foreign governments to establish international standards for regulation of sale of illegal health products.

At present the FDA has authority to take action against any drug that is sold or distributed adulterated or misbranded, any sale of unapproved drugs, any illegal promotions being carried out by the company, dispensing drugs without a proper and valid prescription and any counterfeit drugs. These classifications help put a focus on the activities of the authorities so that they can manage a sound regulation procedure.

        When an illegal health care product has been sold over the internet it should be treated in a similar fashion as a product being sold from a store or a magazine would have. The case should be similar and the charges as same as would be in the case of a normal illegal sale through the conventional method. The FDA has taken strong notice of this and has been very active in referring cases to the legal department. In the process the FDA has comprehensively enhanced its law enforcement activities currently with respect to drug sales made via the internet ().

        The state has placed laws to regulate the practice of pharmacy and medicine in order to protect its citizens from the harmful effects that these drugs carry along with them. When these unsafe drugs are used the patient puts his or her life in danger and if the FDA has not checked the sale of these drugs the customer can file a suit against the authority of not having an effective system in place for regulating such sales. These drugs often include counterfeit drugs that are found in abundance in through the internet.

        While receiving the drug for the first time the patient must be examined by a licensed health care professional having expertise in his field. The physical examination may reveal certain externalities that are not known via the internet. The practitioner will determine the prescription and assign an FDA approved drug for the patient. This law has helped the FDA streamline the procedure and make it much more transparent and effective for its citizens.

        Many companies manufacturing illegal drugs and selling them through the internet use the internet as a means to bypass the regulatory infrastructure. The regulatory authorities often require certain fees to be paid which only raise the costs for the company. Other than that since the FDA has very strict measures for approving a drug it is highly unlikely that a drug with certain amount of illegal substances will be approved. The speed and ease with which customers can buy health care products is so enticing that the companies manufacturing it are determined to use the internet for quick and easy sales. The company does not need to get into many hassles which are faced while selling the product through the conventional channel, thus the companies are much more attracted towards internet sales.

        Many individuals who are not licensed to sell prescription medicine have and can create websites that are synonymous to internet pharmacies. These pharmacies will appear to be legitimate and propose selling legal, FDA approved products. The appearance and location of the websites poses another threat to the regulation procedure since these websites can be easily located anywhere and have their appearance changed as liked.

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        The unapproved sale of prescription medicine poses a great threat to the health and safety of the consumers. The patients using these websites are risking their lives and may suffer adverse consequences, several of which can be a threat to their lives. The inappropriately assigned drugs may cause potential side effects to adversely affect the consumer and also cause contaminated or intoxicated drugs to be delivered to the consumers. Not knowing the aspects the consumer’s goes for short term ease to face long term problems that can be very risky. Many of these products have ingredients that are a life ...

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