Online pharmacies: desirable characteristics and regulations

Kumaran, Harshily; Long, Chiau Soon; Bakrin, Faizah Safina; Tan, Ching Siang; Goh, Khang Wen; Al-Worafi, Yaser Mohammed; Lee, Kah Seng; Lua, Pei Lin; Ming, Long Chiau

doi:10.1007/s40267-020-00727-9

Cited by 374 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…For instance, the availability of counterfeit drugs in Japan and South Korea is low, but it is high in countries such as China and India [4,5]. A large number of counterfeit and fake medicines have been reported to be available in the markets [6]. India has been reported to have the highest prevalence of manufactured counterfeit drugs, which is up to 35%, followed by Nigeria (23.1%) and Pakistan (13.3%) [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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Introduction: The patronage of online pharmacies is rapidly growing, driven by the convenience and cheaper costs of purchasing prescription drugs electronically, especially under the lockdown situation. However, there are issues regarding the quality of the prescription drugs sold online and the legitimacy of online pharmacies. The use of prescription drugs without the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner may potentially harm consumers. Objectives: This systematic review was conducted to improve the body of knowledge on three main aspects of online pharmacies: (1) type and characteristics of the online pharmacies selling drugs; (2) the quality of pharmaceutical drugs purchased online; and (3) the characteristics of consumers of online pharmacies. Methods: Based on a pre-defined search strategy, PubMed and Scopus were utilised to search articles written in the English language published between January 2009 and February 2020. Studies focusing on the sale of prescription drugs were included. The terms used for the literature search were “online pharmacy”, “internet pharmacy”, “e-pharmacy”, “prescription”, “quality”, “medication safety”, and “counterfeit medicine”. These terms were used alone and in combination with Boolean operators. The institutional webpages including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) were also examined for any additional studies. No methodological limitations in terms of study design were applied. A standardised data collection form was used to compile the data. Results: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 46 articles were eligible and included in the final analysis. There were 27 articles on types and characteristic of online pharmacies, 13 articles on the quality of prescription drugs sold from online pharmacies, and 11 articles on consumers purchasing prescription drugs from online pharmacies. Readers should note that five articles discussed both the types and characteristics of online pharmacies, and the quality of the drugs sold from the outlets. The response rate (products received out of the number of orders) ranged from 20% to 100%, whereas the proportion of consumers buying prescription drugs online ranged from 2.3% to 13%. Reasons for online purchase of prescription drugs include the difficulty of obtaining a prescription for certain medications such as opioid analgesics, cheaper cost, since the costs associated with seeing a physician to obtain a prescription are reduced, and the need to obtain drugs such as opioid analgesics and benzodiazepine for misuse. Conclusions: Almost half of the online pharmacies are not properly regulated and fraudulent issues were uncovered. To address this issue, stricter regulation by World Health Organization and implementation should be carried out together with frequent monitoring of the licensure system and pharmacy verification on every online pharmacy, this would reduce the number of illegal or illegitimate online pharmacy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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“…In 11 papers, the geographical location and address of the pharmacy were mentioned on the website (11, 12, 15-19, 21, 24, 25, 30). The pharmacy contact number was mentioned in 10 papers (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Out of 17 papers, only six mentioned the registration code or activity license (12, 15-17, 19, 20).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Limitation on the number of orders for pharmaceutical items by the customer was a feature reported in only one paper (16). Distribution and delivery services were another feature introduced in 14 papers except for two (11,12,15,16,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). The ability of the online physician to order prescription drugs was also reported in two papers (11,15).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Content Information and Functionalities to Design an Online Pharmacy: A Systematic Review

Pourasad

Norouzi

Khajouei

2022

J Clin Res Paramed Sci

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Context: Many pharmacies provide pharmaceutical services through information technology. Many people also prefer online pharmaceutical services to face-to-face services. Online pharmacies can facilitate access to pharmaceutical services. When designing an online pharmacy system, designers need to know the content information, features, characteristics, and facilities of online pharmacies. Objectives: The present study aimed to systematically collect and provide content information, features, characteristics, and facilities of online pharmacy systems. Data Sources: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus until July 2021. Study Selection: Two authors independently reviewed and evaluated the primary studies and examined the content information, features, characteristics, and facilities in three categories: Study characteristics, system attributes, functionality and services. Data Extraction: From 2005 to July 2021, related keywords were found. Books, animal studies, conference papers, and letters to editorial were excluded. Only English-language papers were included. Results: From 3,028 extracted papers, 16 met the inclusion criteria and entered the study. After screening the papers, 35 content information, features, characteristics, and facilities were examined. None of the plentiful content information, features, characteristics, and facilities found in this study followed the same rules and regulations. Conclusions: The present findings showed that online pharmacy systems are somewhat different in terms of content information and other properties. Depending on some circumstances, some parameters may or may not be used in an online pharmacy system. If international standards and rules are developed in the design of online pharmacy systems, which ultimately makes it easier to use. Also The design process will be easier for designers.

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Shock Management in Developing Countries

Al-Worafi

2024

Handbook of Medical and Health Sciences in Developing Countries

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Online pharmacies: desirable characteristics and regulations

Cited by 374 publications

References 9 publications

Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review

Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review

Identification of Content Information and Functionalities to Design an Online Pharmacy: A Systematic Review

Shock Management in Developing Countries

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