Review of the web presence of mail order pharmacies 2016
Legal trade in pharmaceutical specialties via the Internet was made possible in Austria in 2015 by an amendment to the Austrian Medicines Act and linked to legal requirements. Technical features on the drug provider's website enable consumers to check the legality of the Internet trader, thus preventing Austrian consumers and patients from falling victim to providers of illegal or counterfeit drugs.
The technical features include a standardized logo across Europe, which was introduced on June 25, 2015, in accordance with Article 85c (3) of Directive 2001/83/EC (see figure). This must be used by all European distance selling pharmacies (=Internet pharmacies) that are authorized by the authorities to ship authorized, over-the-counter medicinal products and it must be placed in a clearly visible position on the website. When clicked, it leads the orderer to the responsible supervisory authority (Federal Office for Safety in Health Care, BASG) where the list of registered mail-order pharmacies can be viewed (according to §§ 59 and 59a AMG), and which also contains additional information such as the name of the operator, the address as well as a web link to the web store in question. The BASG is responsible for reviewing and, if necessary, updating this list.
As part of a focus review in August 2016, all 32 pharmacies currently registered with the BASG with authorization for distance selling were evaluated with regard to their web presence.
The result
25 web stores had no deficiencies or conspicuous features. Despite registration, six pharmacies had not yet launched the online mail order service they had announced at the time of the inspection. However, this does not represent a defect in the sense of the law. Only one of the listed mail-order pharmacies had not yet integrated the safety logo into its website at the time of the inspection. Any deficiencies identified were promptly rectified on the advice of the BASG.
Inquiries (technical)Dr. Christoph Baumgärtel, Tel.: 050555/36004E-Mail:christoph.baumgaertel@ages.atRückfragen (for media)Communications Management, Tel.: 050555/25000E-Mail: presse@ages.at
