VIPPS Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Continues to Guide Consumers to Legitimate Internet...

VIPPS Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Continues to Guide Consumers to Legitimate
Internet Pharmacies

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill., March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Introduced by the
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy(R) (NABP)(R) in February 1999, the
Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites(TM) (VIPPS)(R) program celebrates 10
years of protecting patients. The VIPPS program enables consumers to
confidently access important information regarding the licensure and practices
of legitimate Internet pharmacies in the nation. A total of 16 pharmacy sites
representing more than 12,000 pharmacies have been accredited through the
program.

Identified early on as a valuable resource for those seeking information on
safely purchasing medications via the Internet, the VIPPS program continues to
receive national and local recognition by Food and Drug Administration, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and media including newspapers, magazines,
and online health resources.

"For 10 years, the VIPPS program has provided the public instant access to
independently verified and maintained information about the legitimacy of
Internet pharmacies," states Rich Palombo, RPh, NABP president. "Because of
the program's design and the thoroughness of NABP," he says, "VIPPS will
continue to provide assurance to consumers and health care professionals that
these accredited Internet pharmacies, to which they are entrusting their
family's health and safety, are in fact legitimate."

To be considered for VIPPS accreditation, an Internet pharmacy must first
complete the VIPPS application and include documentation that verifies
adherence to the rigorous 19-point criteria. Once the application and
supporting documentation have been received, NABP staff begins the
verification and evaluation process, which includes a site visit conducted by
one or more surveyors. The VIPPS surveyor(s) will visit the applicant's
pharmacy and review and verify the policies and procedures that implement the
VIPPS criteria.

Only after successfully completing this application, evaluation, verification,
and site survey process is the online pharmacy awarded VIPPS accreditation and
provided with the VIPPS seal. These seals are displayed on the accredited
pharmacies' Web sites and provide patients with a direct link to the VIPPS
verification Web page, where they can instantly obtain information regarding
the accredited Internet pharmacies.

Once an online pharmacy becomes accredited, an annual review and
reaccreditation process is conducted. Follow-up site surveys are scheduled
with the pharmacies, which are visited once every three years to ensure they
continue to comply with the VIPPS criteria.

Implementation of the VIPPS program was just the beginning of the
Association's battle against rogue Internet sites selling drugs. NABP
continues to develop ways to further protect the public health from
unscrupulous sites. In January 2009, NABP launched the Veterinary-Verified
Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites(TM) (Vet-VIPPS)(TM) program, which serves as
a means to evaluate and accredit legitimately operating online veterinary
pharmacy practice sites that dispense medications for companion animals as
well as non-food producing animals and ensure that a patient/client
relationship exists. This program was developed to assist the states in their
efforts to maintain control over the Internet-based distribution of
prescription drugs and devices for non-food producing animals as well as hold
Internet veterinary pharmacies accountable for meeting patient/client safety
practice standards. The Vet-VIPPS criteria, which is based on the
Association's original VIPPS criteria, also incorporates new criteria specific
to veterinary pharmacies.

Additionally, NABP received an Award of Excellence in the first round of the
2009 Associations Advance America Awards program, a national competition
sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives & The Center for
Association Leadership, for NABP's efforts to educate patients on the
potential dangers of buying medicine online and empower them to make informed
choices. As part of its initiative, NABP created the Internet Pharmacies
section of its Web site where NABP lists the Not Recommended Internet drug
outlets that do not appear to meet state and federal laws and NABP patient
safety and pharmacy practice standards, as well as the Recommended sites
encompassing those Web sites that are VIPPS accredited.

For a listing of VIPPS accredited pharmacies and more information on the
programs mentioned above, visit the NABP Web site at http://www.nabp.net. A
detailed article on the VIPPS anniversary is also available in the March
2009NABP Newsletter accessible in the Newsletters section of the Web site.

NABP is the independent, international, and impartial Association that assists
its member boards and jurisdictions in developing, implementing, and enforcing
uniform standards for the purpose of protecting the public health.

SOURCE National Association of Boards of Pharmacy

Larissa Doucette, Communications Manager of the National Association of Boards
of Pharmacy, +1-847-391-4405, custserv@nabp.net