A private company yesterday began a new service prescribing the contraceptive pill and the morning-after pill online to women in the Republic and the UK. It means women will potentially be able to obtain the pills by filling out forms online without ever seeing a doctor.
But within hours of the service being launched, concerns were being expressed by doctors here as well as by the body charged with the regulation of medicines in the State, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).
The IMB said the supply of prescription-only medicinal products through the internet was a breach of medicinal product legislation pursuant to the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995-2006 and its regulations.
"The IMB will refer this matter to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency [ MHRA] in the UK," it added before advising consumers not to purchase medicinal products through unauthorised sources such as the internet "as there can be no guarantees on the safety, efficacy and effectiveness of products purchased in this manner". It has powers to seize illegal purchases made online as they enter the State.
DrThom, the company which launched the online service, stressed it was not an online supermarket but had doctors onsite to decide whether, on the basis of information provided by patients, the pill should be prescribed. It said pharmacists would then dispense the drugs if appropriate. Furthermore, it said it would prescribe only to over-18s and to women who had already been on the contraceptive pill. After dispensing a three-month supply of the pill it said a woman would have to supply details of her blood pressure to ensure it was normal before she could order more supplies.
However, the firm's commercial director, Ian Van Every, admitted the company would not know if a woman lied about her age or blood pressure. He said it was in a patient's best interests to tell the truth so as to ensure they were getting the most appropriate contraceptive. He added that the company could also supply up to three courses of the morning-after pill "in advance of need".
Dr Shirley McQuade, medical director of the Well Woman centre in Dublin, said she would be concerned about people buying contraceptives without having a face-to-face consultation with a doctor to explain how to take them correctly.
Meanwhile, Dr Martin Daly, president of the Irish Medical Organisation and a GP in Galway, said he would have grave concerns about procuring medication through the internet.
"Doctors online are depending solely on people giving information over the internet and there would be a risk that they may not be getting the correct medical information." The pill, he said, was not recommended in certain instances which would be difficult to gauge without meeting the patient.
"It smacks of the continuing comodification of medical services which, whilst on the surface attractive to patients, is not in their medium- to long-term interests." He said doctors in the UK would not be licensed to prescribe medications in the Republic unless they were registered with the Medical Council.
Dr Thom said it had 10 doctors who were trained to manage patients online at www.DrThom.com.