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Posted on Apr 18, 2005, 8 p.m.
By Bill Freeman
Safety tips to help consumers know their prescription drugs are safe and effective are contained in a new guide released by the Partnership for Safe Medicine, a U.S. national coalition of patient, doctor, pharmacist, industry and professional organizations. The "S.A.F.E. D.R.U.G." guide was released in response to the growing issue of fake or ineffective counterfeit drugs in the United States.
Safety tips to help consumers know their prescription drugs are safe and effective are contained in a new guide released by the Partnership for Safe Medicine, a U.S. national coalition of patient, doctor, pharmacist, industry and professional organizations.
The "S.A.F.E. D.R.U.G." guide was released in response to the growing issue of fake or ineffective counterfeit drugs in the United States.
"Counterfeit drugs in America are a serious problem," Dr. Bryan A. Liang, executive director of the Institute of Health Law Studies at California Western School of Law and co-director of the San Diego Center for Patient Safety at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
"Counterfeiters are getting more sophisticated at exploiting weak links in the supply chain and expanding the types of drugs they're faking. Americans must be more vigilant about the prescription drugs they're taking," said Liang, who is also an expert advisor to the Partnership for Safe Medicines.
The new guide offers advice to consumers on how to avoid, identify and report counterfeit drugs. These tips help people judge whether their medications are safe and what they should do if they feel a medication has been compromised.
