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Dangerous Drugs
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Health care practitioners must carefully reconcile patient medications prescribed in the outpatient and inpatient settings, but internet purchases are another medication source that needs to be considered. An FDA survey found 25% of consumers reported buying drugs online. A recent study found that many narrow therapeutic index drugs (like warfarin, digoxin and phenytoin) could be bought without a prescription. These web-based "pharmacies" advertise great cost savings, but may distribute expired or counterfeit drugs. The authors note that most physicians do not query patients regarding internet drug purchases, so the number of adverse events associated with these is unknown. |
