REGULATION MEASURES FOR SALE OF MEDICATION OR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS THROUGH ONLINE RETAILERS

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3222

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 12 November 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim

MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC

Question No. 6306

To ask the Minister for Health what are the measures to (i) supervise or regulate the sale of medications or prescription drugs through online retailers (ii) raise awareness of the risks involved in purchasing such medications online (iii) prevent the abuse of such purchases and any misdiagnosis of the compatibility of such drugs with their intended users and (iv) verify the actual content of such medications.

Answer

1        Only licensed healthcare institutions or licensed pharmacies can supply prescription medicines and pharmacy-only medications online.  These medicines must also be registered by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The licensing conditions include ensuring that electronic prescriptions can be transmitted securely, and storing registered medicines appropriately. Compliance and quality checks are conducted on marketed medicines.

2        HSA regularly publicises its advisories through various channels to avoid purchasing medicines from overseas or unknown sources, including online, as these may be unregistered, substandard, or counterfeit, posing significant health risks. HSA also monitors local websites and e-commerce platforms to detect and disrupt illegal online sales of medicines. Anyone caught selling these medicines illegally can be fined up to $50,000 and/or jailed for up to two years.