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FEATURE: Graham Easton Clicking for pills BMJ 2007; 334: 14-15 [Full text]

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Are we doing enough?

Dr.David Richard Musa   (8 January 2007)

Are we doing enough? 8 January 2007
Dr.David Richard Musa, SHO Royal Free Hospital, Pond street NW32QG Send response to journal: Re: Are we doing enough?	Dr. Easton's piece on 'internet pharmacy' is an eye-opener to the medical practitioners.It might be true that for fear of being left behind by the rapid spinning wheel of the internet, we might have to accomodate alot of things;but then, this, i think, should stop at the door of compromise on patients' safety. Uncircumscribed access to the internet in procuring medications poses serious risks far beyond the three cardianal ones highlighted in the article:drugs not prescribed by a health professional;no quality control and, no legal recourse in case of a problem.Some patients resort to the internet to buy drugs to overdose;this is a serious cause for concern on a psychiatic ward;in this case, patients' access to the internet should be supervised. Considering that some of these sites would dispense of a prescription -only medication after the filling of a questionnaire,how do we guide against the ingenuity of the human mind from ticking what the virtual 'Doctor' would want to see!It also bothers me how a medication can be prescribed without seeing the patient.I remember one of my medical school teachers saying''never diagnose a patient or prescribe without seeing him/her'';this might sound old fashioned nowadays but,i think it still stands the test of time! Competing interests: None declared