Medical board warns doctors to avoid Viagra websites

Art Nadler

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998 | 11:27 a.m.

The state Board of Medical Examiners has issued a stern warning to Nevada physicians: Don't get involved in Internet sales of Viagra.

A Henderson company, WorldWide Medicine Inc. at 2712 N. Green Valley Pkwy., is one of several companies selling Viagra from a web site. It asks patients to give a medical history on website forms, and says the history will be reviewed by one of WorldWide's physicians to determine if a prescription can be issued. The site notes that if required, a referral will be made to a local physician.

The three-part form also requires customers to agree to a waiver of liability, request an initial amount of Viagra and provide credit card authorization before the request can be submitted.

The board said it is "inappropriate" for a physician to prescribe Viagra without personally seeing a patient.

Larry Lessley, executive director of the medical board, said the state agency has been investigating web sites for three months. One local physician, he said, was ordered to terminate his involvement with a company. Lessley would not reveal the name of the doctor or the company.

Lessley said the board could fine, sanction or restrict or take away the licenses of doctors who ignore the warning.

Viagra hit the market on April 10 to treat male erectile dysfunction. By June, Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of the drug, reported that 2.7 million prescriptions were written by 160,000 physicians. This represented $411 million in sales -- one of the company's biggest money makers.

The lucrative little blue pill, which sells for $10 each, immediately spawned cottage industries around the world. Many claim to have physicians on staff, but according to Dale Austin, deputy director of the Federation of State Medical Boards in Dallas, no one really knows.

"In most of the cases, the doctor is hidden from view," Austin said. "Persons self-report their medical history, and that is supposedly relayed to a physician."

"We know it's a challenge for patients to be honest face to face with a doctor," Austin said. "With this technology, there is a real concern."

According to Carole Shotwell, executive secretary of the Wyoming Board of Medicine, the WorldWide Medicine was operating in Wyoming, but stopped selling when it was investigated by that board.

WorldWide currently has a disclaimer on its web site stating that it can't fill prescriptions for anyone living in Nevada, Wyoming and Connecticut.

Attempts to reach WorldWide for comment were unsuccessful.

Austin said Internet prescription sales of drugs such as Viagra are a major concern with medical boards across the country. Many admit, Austin said, that they don't know how to regulate them. Technically, Austin said, such businesses could be perceived as operating without medical licenses.

The Federation of State Medical Boards will be discussing ways to control Internet prescription sales at its annual meeting in St. Louis in April, Austin said.

"Don't use these sites," Austin warns consumers. "It is not good patient care. You need to go and see your physician. Health care is best served by a physician/patient relationship."