April 16, 2009
iHealthBeat
On Monday, the Drug Enforcement Administration began enforcing new regulations implementing the Ryan Haight Act, which is designed to target rogue Internet pharmacies, Government Technology reports.
The Ryan Haight Act was named for an 18-year-old who died after overdosing on a prescription painkiller he obtained from an Internet pharmacy without seeing a medical doctor.
The new law amends the Controlled Substances Act by adding several new provisions aimed at preventing the illegal distribution of controlled substances through the Internet.
The rules would:
• Require at least one face-to-face medical evaluation before a patient could receive a prescription for a controlled substance via the Internet;
• Create new definitions of what can be considered as an online pharmacy and what it means to deliver, distribute or dispense medication via the Internet;
• Expand regulatory requirements to online pharmaceutical sales; and
• Establish prescription reporting requirements for online pharmacies.
"Now that this law has been put into force, it will be harder for cyber-criminals to supply controlled substances over the Internet and easier for us to prosecute them," DEA acting Administrator Michele Leonhart said.
The Interim Final Rule was published this week in the Federal Register, and the public has 60 days to submit comments to DEA (McKenna, Government Technology, 4/15).