It is technically legal in all states to provide Viagra over the Internet, but the doctor may lose his license.
A doctor in the US is licensed state by state. If he prescribes medicine for a patient living in a state where he has a license, he has broken no law.
But a medical license is a privilege that can be removed by the State Medical Board. Most states have wisely decided that doctors should not be regulated by lawyers in the practice of medicine. So the State Medical Board has the power to discipline its licensees for "failure to practice in a manner consistent with the interests of the public's health". (that is Texas verbiage) And most State medical boards have taken the position that practicing medicine over the Internet is an Idea whose time has not yet come ie. it is bad practice and an abuse of the license, and I agree with this position.
Now if someone prescribes and delivers a medicine to a citizen of Texas while the patient is in Texas, they are engaged in the practice of medicine in Texas and better have a Texas license. However, if they don't have a Texas license, it is not the State Medical Board that gets involved, they only regulate their licensees. In that case, it would be up to the Attorney General to prosecute them for practicing Medicine without a State license, which is a third-degree felony.
So a doctor on a web site in Oregon may have his license pulled for what he does with Oregon patients but he may be committing criminal offenses around the country. (BTW a pharmacist is not obligated to fill a script written by a doctor who is not licensed in the state).
Don't even ask about malpractice, there is no malpractice carrier who will cover or defend a doctor who is practicing without a license. And I've been getting information letters from mine about the risks of the Internet.
They should be shut down, whether they are pushing Viagra or Lasix, it is bad medical practice and should not be allowed.
Zebra |
