Thomas Pere
22 June 2008
analysis
Kampala — The Internet has affected many sectors and has not spared health. Many people are using it to access information on drugs and get prescriptions online for their diseases. Thomas Pere exposes the risks of the practice
YOUR prescription is ready. Get Valium, Xanax, Prozac and more online!" states an e-mail from an online pharmacy. "It has never been easier to get the drugs you need, just click on the drug."
Internet has not spared the medical sector. Prescriptions which are meant to be done face-to-face with a health personnel are now being done on the Internet! According to Chambers Encyclopedic English Dictionary, prescription refers to a set of instructions from a doctor for preparing and taking medicine.
John Lule, an asthma patient says: "With Internet, you get all the information you want without difficulty. It also gives you time to compare prices which you cannot do easily with our local pharmacies."
"There are reputable pharmacies online that provide information on drug interactions. They also e-mail their customers if a drug they ordered has been recalled, or when a cheaper version is available."
Lura Petrecca of Prevention Magazine in an interview with CNN recently said: "Anybody who has a computer and credit card or cash can get any drug on Internet. However, if you are thinking about ordering your drugs online, there are some risks involved if you go on an illicit site."
Jacinto Amadua, the commissioner of clinical in the Ministry of Health, says: "It is not safe for a patient to be diagnosed on Internet because everybody needs to get medical help from a trained health worker.
In this way, the health worker will be professionally responsible for the patient which is not the case with computers."
"Since there are no approved sites for genuine prescriptions, it is hard to differentiate between genuine and shoddy service providers," he says. As the Government, we can only advise through health education because we have no control over the Internet.
However, there are professional websites like the World Health Organisation's and UNICEF with helpful information, but not medication.
"If you are not feeling well, seek advice and get medicine from a trained health worker, with the exception of only off counter medicine like panadol. Avoid self-medication and prescription from the media including the Internet," says Amadua.
If you are considering getting a prescription online, the primary concern is safety. Is the online pharmacist reliable and is someone there to help them in case of the prescription backfires?
Nobert Anyama, a pharmacist at the Department of Pharmacology at Makerere University Medical School, says: "Internet prescribing is a relatively recent phenomenon, which has emerged in developed countries.
It does not meet acceptable standards of patient care, which require an adequate assessment of the patient prior to making a prescription."
"It may, therefore, not be very safe and reliable, particularly when there has been no prior contact with the health worker who prescribed the medicine.
Also, if patients look up information about their diseases and prescribe medicine for themselves without corroborating their healthcare provider, it can cause complications."
The problem arises when the information is unreliable. So it is important for patients to corroborate this with a qualified health worker.
Anyama says: "Good health information from the Internet can only be guaranteed if the source is authentic. For instance, one can obtain reliable information from professional health associations like the medical or dental association or the Pharmaceutical Association and local or international public or private health agencies."
Apollo Muhairwe, the executive secretary of National Drug Authority (NDA), says: "Internet pharmacies are mainly operational in developed countries.
They deal in over-the-counter products and prescription. It is a new phenomenon in Uganda, given the fact that few people hold credit cards and have access to the Internet."
"Nevertheless, NDA is empowered by law and has the mandate to control all drug sales including virtual trade through the Internet.
Importers who order their drugs through the Internet have to ensure that the products are registered and authorised by NDA before they are released on the market," he adds.
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