Innovations-Magazine-May-2022 - 11

ASSOCIATION NEWS
NABP's Consumer Campaign Continues to Educate Patients
About Buying Medication Safely Online
NABP's 2022 consumer awareness campaign
continues to focus on educating consumers
about safe ways to buy medication online
and the dangers of buying medicine from
unlicensed online pharmacies and through
social media sites. NABP has found that
patients continue to buy medicine online
because they think it is easy, cost-effective,
and safe, but many are unaware that it can
put them, or their loved ones, at risk. Rogue
websites and social media platforms often sell
fraudulent and unsafe prescription medications
that may contain toxic fillers such as drywall,
rat poison, or deadly amounts of fentanyl.
The various elements of the campaign seek to
educate patients on these dangers and instruct
on how to safely purchase online.
Buy Safely
Throughout the campaign, NABP urges
patients to visit the Buy Safely page on
NABP's consumer website at safe.pharmacy
and use the free search tool to easily check
whether a website they are using is licensed
and safe. Sites that have been verified through
NABP's .Pharmacy Verified Websites Program
or have earned NABP's Digital Pharmacy
Accreditation will display as " verified, " and
the campaign encourages consumers to use
these resources when buying medication
online. Sites that appear to be out of
compliance with NABP patient safety and
pharmacy practice standards, or applicable
law, will display as " Not Recommended. "
Share the Buy Safely Message
Several patient education resources are available
for boards of pharmacy to share the message
about the importance of buying prescription
medication from licensed, verified pharmacies
and pharmacy websites, including sample social
media posts, images, video links, a sample
newsletter article, and a sample presentation, all
of which can be found on the NABP website at
safe.pharmacy/resources. Boards are encouraged
to use these resources to educate patients in
their state and alert their licensees that the
content is available for their use as well.
Campaign Overview
This year's campaign includes television and
radio public service announcements (PSAs)
featuring Ed and Mary Ternan, founders
of the nonprofit charity Song for Charlie
(www.songforcharlie.org), who share their
heart-wrenching story of losing their son to
a fake prescription pill purchased through
social media. The Ternans' loss has prompted
them to work with organizations like NABP
to spread the word about making sure that
patients are only obtaining medications
from websites and social media operated
by licensed pharmacies.
NABP is distributing the television and
radio PSAs to broadcast stations around the
country, as well as conducting various digital
advertising campaigns throughout the course
of the year to reach as many patients as
possible. The ads will be seen in mobile
apps, on websites of national publications,
in a special ESPN digital campaign, and
through keyword and site retargeting.
In March 2022, NABP Executive Director/Secretary
Lemrey " Al " Carter, PharmD, MS, RPh, sat down with
Pharmacy Times to discuss the consumer campaign
and its goals. See the full interview.
MAY 2022 | 9
https://youtu.be/mBLGTtRc6PU http://www.songforcharlie.org https://www.safe.pharmacy/resources http://www.safe.pharmacy https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/campaign-provides-education-on-unsafe-online-medication-sources
Innovations-Magazine-May-2022

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