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>Health minister: It's "unethical" to prescribe drugs >without knowing patient > >THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > >VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Canada's health >minister says doctors and pharmacists who give >prescriptions to Americans without meeting them first >are being unethical. > >Ujjal Dosanjh made the comment Tuesday while in >Vancouver, British Columbia, to announce funding for >several hundred research projects at universities >across Canada. > >"The practice of countersigning prescriptions by >doctors without actually having a relationship with >the patient and properly assessing the patient is >absolutely unethical and unprofessional," he said. > >Spokesmen for the bodies that regulate pharmacists and >doctors called the charge unfair and misinformed. > >Dr. Albert Schumacher, president of the Canadian >Medical Association, said he was surprised by >Dosanjh's remarks. > > > >"We have been on record for months concerned about the >safety and security of our prescription drug supply," >he said. > >Schumacher said pharmacists have been looking for help >from the government, suggesting that Ottawa has to >decide what's more important: helping Canadian >patients or exporting pharmaceuticals. > >"We have to pick," Schumacher said. "We can do one >well, or we can do the other well. I don't think we >can do them both." > >Over the last year, business has been booming for >Canadian Internet pharmacies that take orders from >Americans looking to buy cheaper, Canadian drugs. >Busloads of Americans crossing the border to shop in >Canada have also become common. > >On average, drug prices in Canada are 30 percent lower >than in the United States, and in some specific cases >can cost 80 percent less north of the border, >according to a U.S. congressional study. > >In the United States, President George W. Bush has >questioned the safety of imported Canadian drugs, >while his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, ordered >several state firms to stop selling drugs from Canada >pending an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug >Administration. > >The Canadian Pharmacists Association has also >complained that some Internet pharmacies pose safety >concerns by operating illegally and offering services >that aren't accredited. > >But other states - notably Washington, Wisconsin and >Minnesota - offer help to their citizens who want to >look to Canadian pharmacies for the cheaper drugs. >Washington state has a Web site on the subject. > >Some people have voiced concerns that the cross-border >shopping could hurt the Canadian supply, but Dosanjh >said it appears the Canadian supply is protected. > >Linda Lytle, registrar of the College of Pharmacists >of B.C., said pharmacists providing services to >patients in the U.S. must meet the same standards of >practice they do for patients living in British >Columbia. "That means establishing a relationship with >a patient," Lytle said. > >But she said it's not up to the pharmacist to >investigate whether a patient has a relationship with >the doctor who wrote the prescription. > >"This activity rightly falls into the hands of the >physicians regulatory authority," she said. "We don't >think it's fair to put that type of responsibility on >a pharmacist because there's no practical way for them >to investigate and confirm those relationships."

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