title: Digital danger: a review of the global public health, patient safety and cybersecurity threats posed by illicit online pharmacies.
abstract: Amidst the rise of e-commerce, there has been a proliferation of illicit online pharmacies that threaten global patient safety by selling drugs without a prescription directly to the consumer. Despite this clear threat, little is known about the key risk characteristics, central challenges and current legal, regulatory and law enforcement responses.
  
  
  
  A review was conducted of the English literature with search terms 'online pharmacies', 'Internet pharmacies', 'cyber pharmacies', 'rogue pharmacies', and 'e-pharmacies' using PubMed, JSTOR, and Google Scholar from 1999-2005.
  
  
  
  Illicit online pharmacies are a rapidly growing public health threat and are characterized by a number of complex and interrelated risk factors.
  
  
  
  Solutions are varied and are of questionable utility in the face of evolving technology that enables this form of transnational cybercrime.
  
  
  
  Legal, regulatory and technology solutions must address the entire illicit online pharmacy ecosystem in order to be effective.
  
  
  
  There is a critical need to build international consensus, conduct additional research and develop technology to combat illicit online pharmacies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA Global Health Policy Institute, San Diego, California, USA Division of Global Public Health, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA tmackey@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Tim K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.affiliation: Global Health Policy Institute, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Gaurvika
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nayyar
mesh_terms: D016494:Computer Security / Q000592:standards*; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004346:Drug Information Services; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D040541:Marketing; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D060946:Pharmaceutical Services, Online / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011634:Public Health; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs
keywords: Internet governance; Internet pharmacies; cybercrime; cyberpharmacies; cybersecurity; e-pharmacy; online patient safety; online pharmacies