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Publisher of leading Internet site for seniors says inaccurate reporting by WISH-TV about prescription medicines from outside U.S. creates confusion, fails public 

St. Louis, MO (Special)—The publisher of a leading informational website for America’s Seniors, elderly, caregivers, advocates and policy-makers says that inaccurate reporting by Indianapolis’ WISH-TV I-Inform program about the safety and efficacy of prescription medicines provided by a pharmacy benefit manager specializing in safe, affordable medicines from outside the U.S. for a wide variety of patients and clients creates unwarranted confusion and concerns that fail to serve the public interest.

Daniel Hines, publisher of www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com , has worked on behalf of making prescription medicines from licensed, registered pharmacies from outside the U.S. available to the American public for nearly seven years.

In that capacity, he has devoted a good deal of his time and the attention of his Internet site to providing accurate information and support of the potential contribution of access to safe, affordable prescription medicines to improved quality of healthcare and lower prescription medicine costs for not only seniors, but all Americans.  This has included extensive coverage as well as stories, consultation with pharmacy services, policy-makers and advocacy groups to ensure that stories or representations about safety and efficacy meet accepted standards of accuracy.

In the WISH-TV situation, an ‘investigative’ reporter claimed that CanaRx Services, Inc.  was a ‘Canadian pharmacy’ that was guilty of dealing in counterfeit medicines. CanaRx is not a pharmacy, and is instead a pharmacy benefits manager.

“WISH-TV is guilty of sloppy and inaccurate reporting at the best, and might be considered as merely the latest in a long-series of examples of media prejudice, especially in locations with a strong pharmaceutical manufacturer presence,” Hines notes.  Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is headquartered in Indianapolis.

“It has been my proven observation that there are common threads that run through industry attacks on prescription medicines from pharmacies outside the U.S.,” Hines notes.

“The most common of these is the totally unfounded question of the authenticity of the prescription medicines, which is nothing more than an attempt to confuse the public with the impression that prescription medicines from pharmacies outside the U.S. are ‘not safe or the real product.’  In many instances, our site has uncovered pharmaceutical industry financial support of numbers of instances of such claims by several sources, all of which are funded to a huge degree by the pharmaceutical industry.

“While we do not level such a charge against WISH-TV, one must wonder about the source of this false charge against CanaRx,” Hines continued. 

He also criticized WISH-TV on a number of other fronts:

“The charge in and of itself is not true,” he observes. “Added to this is the representation made by the station   CanaRx failed to respond to WISH-TV calls,  Telephone records of the company clearly indicate that only one call was made to the company shortly before the airing of the broadcast, indicating that the host of the show had already prepared the thrust of the show for airing.

“If these instances of sloppy adherence to journalistic standards are not enough, WISH-TV also has misled the viewing public, apparently for a lengthy time,  on a number of other issues that have been the subject of this show, by declaring in its response to a lawsuit filed by CanaRx against the station, that the show reflects ‘opinion.’ It, therefore, is not a news broadcast dealing with facts, but reflects the opinion—and likely the bias-- of the host,” Hines says.  “This should be declared in a disclaimer as a part of each and every telecast.

“At the same time, one must wonder what the impetus is behind a show based on opinion that so obviously is so inaccurate.”

Hines concludes that the timing of the broadcast is also called into question.

“One must wonder if it is prompted by anticipated approval of Federal legislation that will allow purchase of prescription medicines from licensed, registered pharmacies outside the U.S. free of the current restrictions of personal purchases of up to 90 days supply of such prescriptions,” Hines explains.

Passed several times in the past 16 years, only to be rendered ineffective by provisions introduced by Congressional pharmaceutical industry supporters or the threat of a Presidential veto, the legislation is expected to gain approval and be signed into law in 2009 irrespective of whom is elected President. 

“We are proud to be able to continue the record of leadership of www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com in support of increasing the options available to more and more Americans with access to these safe, affordable prescriptions,” Hines says.  “And, we are proud to be able to work with CanaRx as it continues its leadership through its role as a pharmacy benefit manager offering unique healthcare advantages, as well as opportunities for savings to a wide variety of clients.”