It was only last month that at the FDA issued a warning not to purchase Diazepam online due to the potential that the drugs may be counterfeit. There are two issues at the heart of this blog: 1 being the prevalence of counterfeit medication and the second being the continued prominence of purchasing medicines online.
In this example, the FDA were reacting to a World Health Organisation alert after 700 adverse events were recorded from patients in Central Africa. It turned out that the Diazepam were mislabelled and were actually the anti-psychotic drug Haloperidol.
Now you might read this and think well I’m not in Africa but in reality the medication taken daily by patients all around the world may not have originated in the home country. Medications will travel over the world and the supply chain is subject to breach by opportunists.
Counterfeit medications are real. Be aware and don’t let them impact your business, your own health or your patients.
Do you have a protocol for dealing with potential counterfeits?
Will you buy medicines online?