Fight The NABP & Drugstore.com

[RxSponsor.com]

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and Drugstore.com are behind this push to stop us cold.


If any of us want to make our living from Rx then we must organize. It's one thing to bitch and moan and another being proactive and fighting back.


There are people here who are willing to put forth an effort. I would like to see a section here at the forum devoted solely for this purpose.


We can't just let these guys roll over us and destroy this industry.


Come on folks!!!! It has to start somewhere....





PS: This was the story that told it all: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ecommerce/0,39020372,391177 80,00.htm





Please Comment here:


http://www.zdnet.co.uk/talkback/?PROCESS=post&AT=3911778 (http://www.zdnet.co.uk/talkback/?PROCESS=post&AT=39117780-39020372t-10000024c) 0-39020372t-10000024c

[icollect]

I second the motion

[icollect]

One of the most important things we need is legal advice on what consitutes a doctor patient relationship. We also need to get in touch with someone in the political / legal arena for what their read would be in our enviornment(the internet), I think your going to find if approached in the right way we could get a lot of leaway. Everyone in the political arena knows this is new technology and quite possible that grant money could be obtained. We just have to start thinking outside the box.


I don't need real names, I need a head count. In or Out. Vote and let me know. Pm me if your shy.


One person from each op needs to be a contact for that op. We need feedback from the ops, I fully think they will take the process over after we get it started.


If we agree to move forward we need our best writer to craft a press release concerning our effort. This may influence oveture and others to let us be the third party process.


Time is up for us oveture is just the first, it's going to start happening real fast now. Anybody you know that is not with this forum that should be, get them in.


We can't approach this with the intent to circumvent the law, but to comply with the law and shape the law to fit the technology. Opinions should be obtained from forward thinking officials who would support implementation of our procedures.

[stevie]

link doesn't work anymore for me

[DEWIE42]

Ditto not for me either (the link that is)smileys/smiley2.gif

[RxSponsor.com]

Search engines slammed for drug ads Stefanie Olsen
CNET News.com
November 11, 2003, 09:20 GMT



Tell us your opinion

A US pharmacy trade group wants search engines to stop selling sponsored ads to unlicensed drug operations


A major US pharmacy trade group is pressuring Web-based search engines to ban advertisements from unlicensed drug dealers, highlighting growing pains for the Net's newest marketing powerhouses.


The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) said it will meet with Yahoo on Wednesday as part of an effort to clean up ads for prescription drugs, such as the painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin, which can be ordered freely by mail from some Web sites without a doctor's consent.


NABP and Drugstore.com, one of the biggest online pharmacies, have contacted several sites, including search engine provider Google, Microsoft's MSN Web portal and America Online, saying that they have run ads from illegal distributors. NABP and Drugstore.com want the sites to agree not to run ads from distributors unless they are certified by the industry organisation. The association currently lists 14 certified pharmacies on its verified Internet pharmacy practices site (VIPPS), including Drugstore.com and Walgreen's online arm, Walgreen.com.


"The concern is that there are literally hundreds of illegal sites selling pharmaceuticals such as OxyContin and Vicodin with no medical oversight," said Walter Conner, senior director for communications for Drugstore.com, which joined the NABP's campaign earlier this year. "Google is carrying ads for these sites... We feel that the major search engines have a social responsibility not to do this."


The debate goes to the heart of "pay per click" advertising programs sponsored by search engines such as Google and Overture Services, a segment that's expected to account for a quarter of the $6.3bn (œ3.77bn) online advertising market this year, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Pharmacy ads make up a relatively small fraction of this total, but carry a high profile given the public health and safety issues at stake.


Search engines are widely credited with helping revive the flagging online advertising market, thanks to auctions of high-impact text-based links that appear atop or adjacent to search results related to specific keywords, such as "digital cameras."


As they've grown, such programs have increasingly come under scrutiny from regulators and the courts, which are demanding greater accountability from providers. If successful, those demands would almost certainly raise costs for search engines by forcing them to more closely examine thousands of advertisers and listings in an industry that up until now has relied heavily on automation.


Calls for increased accountability could also crimp revenue by winnowing demand for the keywords sold by search engines in Google's and Overture's pay-per-click advertising systems, which currently take place through auctions that are open to all comers.


The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which regulates advertising in the United States, last year issued its first guidelines targeting advertising in search results, laying out best practices for disclosure of paid links but falling short of demanding formal changes. The agency recently indicated that it is continuing to examine Web search industry practices.


Trademark holder eBay, meanwhile, recently asked Google to restrict the sale of the keyword "eBay," a move that could spark other trademark holders into action.


Although search companies say they are working hard to establish appropriate advertising guidelines, there are still kinks to be worked out, analysts said.


"Paid search has created a world where keywords have fiscal value, but we haven't figured out how to enforce their meaning or who should enforce their meaning," said Matthew Berk, research director at Jupiter Research.


Regulators on the move
NABP's efforts to restrict online pharmacy ads come a