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Buying
Prescriptions Over the Net
Bootcamp feature for Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Buying prescriptions over the Internet. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on
today’s technology. There’s a lot to be wary of when it comes to buying
online. Especially when it comes to pharmaceuticals. Some of the biggest
spammers are shady outfits trying to sell Viagra and similar drugs online. A
Web site called KwikMed.com….spelled with a K… used to fit that profile….but
under new ownership, it has been licensed by the state of Utah to prescribe
certain medicines over the Internet. CEO Peter Ax….an attorney with an MBA
from the Wharton School…says physicians affiliated with the site…do the
prescribing…and medications are sent from licensed pharmacies….
”What happens is, our
software takes all the information that you input as a patient and then it
runs it through certain standardized medical scales. A physician looks at
all the information and decides whether or not it’s appropriate for you to
receive a prescription. Or does the physician need additional information
in which case he may call you or he may email to you. Or he may simply on
its face say you’re not entitled to a prescription, we’re not going to
give you a prescription.”
Ax claims the online interview
process is often more thorough than what takes place in a doctor’s office.
And the site only prescribes a short list of medications…
“And right now we sell three
erectile dysfunction drugs and a hair loss drug. We are in the process of
trying to add cholesterol management.”
The idea remains controversial,
to say the least, however, in both the medical and pharmaceutical
communities. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I’m Fred Fishkin. |
