NABP Receives Guardian Award
At the Partnership for Safe Medicines pre-conference reception on October 26, 2011, in Washington, DC, PSM President Dr. Marv Shepherd presented the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy with the Partnership for Safe Medicines Guardian Award for heroically contributing to drug safety.
Presenting the award to Elizabeth Scott Russell of NABP (shown in the photo), Dr. Shepherd spoke about NABP’s work protecting consumers from dangerous drugs purchased over the internet. NABP has created three critical developments that have significantly improved consumer education and protection.
Dr. Shepherd cited NABP’s development of the VIPPS® (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) accreditation program, which helps consumers find safe sources for purchasing medicine online. NABP keeps a database of verified online pharmacies that are safe for consumers to purchase from on their website at http://vippspharmacies.net/.
Websites unaffiliated with pharmacies that sell medication online prey upon people who depend upon medication for their health, and chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and cancer. In order to combat these fake pharmacies, NABP and the state boards of pharmacy have instituted a consumer protection program, AWARxE, www.awarerx.org, which provides information to safely obtain medication and news and links on NABP resources.
At the Partnership for Safe Medicines pre-conference reception on October 26, 2011, in Washington, DC, PSM President Dr. Marv Shepherd presented the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy with the Partnership for Safe Medicines Guardian Award for heroically contributing to drug safety.
Presenting the award to Elizabeth Scott Russell of NABP (shown in the photo), Dr. Shepherd spoke about NABP’s work protecting consumers from dangerous drugs purchased over the internet. NABP has created three critical developments that have significantly improved consumer education and protection.
Dr. Shepherd cited NABP’s development of the VIPPS® (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) accreditation program, which helps consumers find safe sources for purchasing medicine online. NABP keeps a database of verified online pharmacies that are safe for consumers to purchase from on their website at http://vippspharmacies.net/.
Websites unaffiliated with pharmacies that sell medication online prey upon people who depend upon medication for their health, and chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and cancer. In order to combat these fake pharmacies, NABP and the state boards of pharmacy have instituted a consumer protection program, AWARxE, www.awarerx.org, which provides information to safely obtain medication and news and links on NABP resources.
He also highlighted NABP’s most recent report which concludes that 96% of online pharmaceutical websites are not pharmacies at all, but are associated with “rogue affiliate networks obtaining medications from questionable sources and dispensing them indiscriminately to patients with valid prescription or medical oversight.” This extensive research of over 8,000 websites and their work verifying online pharmacies are emblems of NABP’s commitment to protecting the public from dangerous drugs.
The conference reception and award ceremony kicked off the 2011 Interchange which continues with opening remarks from Executive Director Scott LaGanga at 8:30am, tomorrow on October 27, 2011 at the National Press Club, in Washington, DC. Follow the conference on our liveblog at www.safemedicines.org and on Twitter and Facebook.