Wednesday, May 19, 2004
The party's over
[Carol M. Ostrom, "Canadian clinics cutting off drugs for Americans," The Seattle Times, 18 May 2004.]
More bad news for reimportation supporters. Canadians are beginning to crack down on the sale of drugs to Americans, and it appears that part of the reason is our lawsuit-happy society:
Canadian medical clinics are quietly informing American patients they will no longer help them obtain prescription drugs, after stern warnings from a major insurer that doctors who are sued by Americans won't be covered.
The move threatens to restrict access to cheaper drugs purchased by hundreds of thousands of Americans who visit Canadian clinics or buy online from Canadian pharmacies.
[T]he organization that insures the vast majority of Canadian doctors has gone a step further, warning that if doctors continue the "risky activity" of rewriting prescriptions for American patients, they'll be on their own in the event of a lawsuit.
"The American system has a reputation for being litigious — people are ready to sue for everything," said Dr. Morris VanAndel, head of the B.C. licensing board, called the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
In February, the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), a "defense union" based in Ottawa that insures about 95 percent of doctors in Canada, issued a strongly worded directive spelling out the insurance limits, making it clear the prohibition applied to "Internet prescribing" as well.
In the directive, Dr. James Sproule of CMPA said licensing boards expect doctors prescribing medication to take a history, perform examinations, diagnose, obtain consent and assure follow-up, as well as keep an appropriate medical record.
"You're not making your expertise available — you're selling your signature for a price," [VanAndel] said. "I won't own this quote, but someone called it 'professional prostitution.'"
VanAndel said his office would initiate "an action" against a British Columbia-licensed physician rewriting American prescriptions without a proper doctor-patient relationship, even if that doctor were located outside Canada.
[Carol M. Ostrom, "Canadian clinics cutting off drugs for Americans," The Seattle Times, 18 May 2004.]
More bad news for reimportation supporters. Canadians are beginning to crack down on the sale of drugs to Americans, and it appears that part of the reason is our lawsuit-happy society:
Canadian medical clinics are quietly informing American patients they will no longer help them obtain prescription drugs, after stern warnings from a major insurer that doctors who are sued by Americans won't be covered.
The move threatens to restrict access to cheaper drugs purchased by hundreds of thousands of Americans who visit Canadian clinics or buy online from Canadian pharmacies.
[T]he organization that insures the vast majority of Canadian doctors has gone a step further, warning that if doctors continue the "risky activity" of rewriting prescriptions for American patients, they'll be on their own in the event of a lawsuit.
"The American system has a reputation for being litigious — people are ready to sue for everything," said Dr. Morris VanAndel, head of the B.C. licensing board, called the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
In February, the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), a "defense union" based in Ottawa that insures about 95 percent of doctors in Canada, issued a strongly worded directive spelling out the insurance limits, making it clear the prohibition applied to "Internet prescribing" as well.
In the directive, Dr. James Sproule of CMPA said licensing boards expect doctors prescribing medication to take a history, perform examinations, diagnose, obtain consent and assure follow-up, as well as keep an appropriate medical record.
"You're not making your expertise available — you're selling your signature for a price," [VanAndel] said. "I won't own this quote, but someone called it 'professional prostitution.'"
VanAndel said his office would initiate "an action" against a British Columbia-licensed physician rewriting American prescriptions without a proper doctor-patient relationship, even if that doctor were located outside Canada.
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