Tighten up drug trading on e-commerce platforms

The Law on Amendments and Supplements to a Number of Articles of the Law on Pharmacy stipulates that the retail sale of prescription drugs, special control drugs, and drugs on the restricted list via e-commerce is strictly prohibited, except for cases of medical isolation due to group A infectious diseases. Facilities are only allowed to trade in drugs at licensed locations. Along with perfecting the legal framework, the Department of Drug Administration ( Ministry of Health ) requires localities to strengthen field inspections, detect and promptly handle establishments that sell drugs in the wrong locations, sell drugs against regulations, or take advantage of social networking platforms to trade in illegal drugs.

The units strictly adhere to the principles of “Good Pharmacy Practice” (GPP), only transacting with partners who are legally guaranteed and licensed to operate according to regulations. In addition, the health sector has increased communication and raised people’s awareness that “when buying medicine, you must go to a licensed pharmacy to ensure safety; do not buy medicine through social networks when the origin and source are unknown”. This move will contribute to protecting public health, while the situation of buying and selling floating drugs, fake drugs, and poor quality drugs online is difficult to manage.

Many opinions believe that remote medical examination and treatment and electronic prescription will be an inevitable trend. The early promulgation of specific regulations will create favorable conditions for the development of this type of service, while ensuring safety and efficiency in providing medicine to patients. However, in the e-commerce environment, it is very difficult to clearly identify the purchasers, affecting the control and handling of violations.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that in practice, there are legal gaps, especially for specific items such as drugs. Therefore, only drugs and drug ingredients are allowed to be traded through e-commerce trading floors, e-commerce sales applications, and e-commerce sales websites with online ordering functions to clearly identify the responsible legal entity. In addition, regulations are added on the conditions for trading drugs, subjects allowed to participate in buying and selling, issues of buyer information security, issues of traceability, issues of quality management, drug price management, issues of consultation, instructions for drug use, drug delivery and transportation processes, and responsibilities of e-commerce business operators.

According to the Drug Administration, on April 21, the unit sent a document to businesses and organizations selling products via e-commerce, requesting to control and prevent the buying and selling of drugs online, including prescription drugs and specially controlled drugs on websites, and to provide quality drugs to ensure safety for users.

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/siet-chat-mua-ban-thuoc-san-thuong-mai-dien-tu-a420648.html