Patient Perspective on Counterfeit Medications by Scott T. Williams, MPA, Vice President of Men's Health Network Presented at the 2012 Partnership for Safe Medicines Interchange on September 28, 2012.

1. P R E S E N TAT I O N S
PAT I E N T P E R S P E C T I V E O N
C O U N T E R F E I T M E D I C AT I O N S
S C OT T T. W I L L I A M S , M PA
VICE PRESIDENT
M E N ’ S H E A LT H N E T W O R K
SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
N AT I O N A L P R E S S C L U B
WWW.SAFEMEDICINES.ORG

2. “Patient Perspective on Counterfeit
Medications”
Partnership for Safe Medicines Interchange 2012
Scott T. Williams, MPA
Vice President
Men’s Health Network
September 28, 2012 2

3. Men’s Health Network
• Men's Health Network (MHN) is a national DC based non-profit
organization, founded in 1992, whose mission is to reach men and their
families where they live, work, play, and pray with health prevention
messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy
opportunities, and patient navigation.
• Reach Men and Their Families - Live, Work, Play, and Pray
– Men at Work (45 + large corporate employers)
– Healthy Sunday (minority and underserved men and families)
– Community Health Centers, etc.
– Sports/Entertainment Franchises (NFL, NBA, PGA, etc.)
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4. Million Dollar Question(s)
• How many of you receive daily emails about
places to go online to order Viagra, Cialis, or
Levitra?
• How many clickable links to solutions and
treatments for the most common men’s
health concerns are you exposed to online
monthly?
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5. The Problem
How many of them ARE providing
access to AUTHENTIC and SAFE
medications for men, women,
and families?
40,000 websites peddle alleged prescription drugs, but
studies have shown that up to 95% of these websites are
illegitimate and unsafe
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6. September 5, 2012 Article
• An analysis of pills from 22 different websites
claiming to sell drugs such as Viagra and Cialis
found 77 percent of samples were fake
• They contained only 30 to 50 percent of the
active ingredient advertised on the label.
• Many of the counterfeit drugs also contained
undeclared substances such as gypsum, found
in fertilizer, commercial paint and printer ink
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7. What’s Been Happening?
• Man from Wichita, Kansas died from an
accidental overdose of drugs he got from an
online drug seller
• An ER doctor from Texas suffered a stroke
from a counterfeit diet medication that was
purchased online
• FDA reports nearly 400 convictions of
criminals selling illegal pharmaceuticals in the
last 5 years
• One in six Americans have purchased drugs
from an illegal or unverified online pharmacy
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8. Why Does This Matter?
• Guys have enough challenges when it comes
to their health already
– Men are 100% less likely to seek preventive
healthcare (NCHS, 2001)
– Men lead in 9 out of the top 10 causes of death
(NCHS, 2009)
– 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in their lifetime will
be diagnosed with cancer (ACS, 2011)
– Men are living 5 years less than their female
counterparts (CDC, 2010)
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9. Our Goal
• Help patients, caregivers, and families
understand the dangers of counterfeit and
unsafe medicines
• Empower patients to do some research, get
a prescription from their healthcare
providers and only buy from a Verified
Internet Pharmacy Practice Site (VIPPS)
• Rally together as advocates and partners to
combat this global public health threat.
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10. PSM-MHN Infographic – June 2012
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11. What’s Worked
• Multidisciplinary approach
– Providers, public health, patient advocates, etc.
• Involve like-minded organizations
• Non-traditional partners
– Veterans, seniors, unions, etc.
• One Voice Against Cancer Model
– Speak with one “united” voice
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12. Call to Action
• Engage our grassroots
• Mobilize our volunteers
• Make the Ask!
– NO! Is just the beginning of a conversation
• Leveraging our contacts
• Coordinate and effectively manage scarce
resources
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13. Together we can
eliminate this
problem!!!
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14. Contact Me:
Scott T. Williams, MPA
Vice President
Men's Health Network
Office: 202-543-6461 ext. 103
scott@menshealthnetwork.org
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