The major focus of this bill is to require that internet pharmacists and doctors make certain disclosures on their web sites.  The bill does not make irresponsible internet prescribing illegal, which is what state boards of medicine and pharmacy have requested in correspondence with theSecretary of Health and Human Services.  The bill also does not provide for national injunctive authority for states, which Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall has called `the most important tool the Federal government can give the States' on internet pharmacies.

An amendment was offered that would have solved both of these problems.  It would have prevented web site operators (whether pharmacists, doctors or others) from arranging for an internet doctor to prescribe medication for a patient unless the doctor actually sees the patient.  It would have had negligible impact on the regular practice of medicine, as doctors would only be subject to the law if they accept a payment from a pharmacy in exchange for a prescription or if they run an illicit internet pharmacy themselves.  The amendment would also have provided for state enforcement power, including the opportunity to obtain a nationwide injunction.

Henry A. Waxman
John D. Dingell