Health

Rogue online chemists ‘are fuelling opioid crisis by handing out lethal drugs without asking GPs’


ROGUE online chemists could be fuelling an opioid crisis by handing out potentially lethal drugs without asking GPs, it was claimed.

An investigation found registered pharmacists are breaching new rules that say they must contact the patient’s doctor first.

 Rogue online chemists could be fuelling an opioid crisis by handing out potentially lethal drugs without asking GPs, it was claimed

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Rogue online chemists could be fuelling an opioid crisis by handing out potentially lethal drugs without asking GPs, it was claimedCredit: Reuters

Experts demanded an urgent probe. Neal Patel, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “These findings are concerning and I would expect a full and urgent investigation by regulators.”

An undercover reporter was able to buy hundreds of painkillers from five registered internet chemists without providing details of a doctor.

One issued 200 tablets of dihydrocodeine, an opioid twice as powerful as codeine. The same company breached its own policy by allowing the reporter to order another batch the next day.

The Times also revealed that a pharmacy run by an evangelical pastor at a Christian church was banned from prescribing opioids over its use of foreign doctors, despite not providing evidence they had the right to prescribe in Britain.

There is a growing crisis in Britain, mirroring one in the United States.

About 2,000 deaths are recorded each year, up by 41 per cent from ten years ago.

New rules were introduced by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in April, which require the prescriber to contact the patient’s doctor “in

advance of issuing a prescription” and to ensure “that the GP has confirmed to the prescriber that the prescription is appropriate for the patient”.

A probe by our sister paper The Times found that the pharmicists only asked for an online questionnaire to be filled in and a photo of a passport.

The questionnaires are assessed by a doctor, often based elsewhere in Europe due to a loophole, before a prescription is issued to be dispensed by the pharmacy.

The drugs can be fast-tracked to arrive the next day.

Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said: “We will investigate the pharmacies and pharmacy professionals involved and take all appropriate action to protect patients.”

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