ReviewThe journal of medicine access
A critical review on the availability of substandard and falsified medicines online: Incidence, challenges and perspectives.
Review in The journal of medicine access. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Measuring Safety Risks in Online Drug Sales: Empirical Study Based on Complex Network Theory.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
- Exploring the Preferences and Behavioral Trends of e-Patients in Psychosomatics Towards Telemedicine During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Navigating Global Regulatory Divergence in Over-the-counter Drugs: Addressing Emerging Risks and Harmonization Challenges.Current drug research reviews · 2026Review
- Identification of the consequences of the proliferation of counterfeit sports supplements market.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices and demand-side interventions for combating substandard and falsified medicines: a scoping review.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Review
- Perceptions and practices on substandard and falsified medicines in humans and animals in Wakiso district, Uganda: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Substandard and falsified medicines in Africa: healthcare systems challenges, supply chain issues, regulatory challenges and strategies to increase access to quality medicines.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Community pharmacy professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward substandard and falsified medicines and associated factors in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Perception of falsified and counterfeit medicines among adults living in Mexico City and the metropolitan area: an underappreciated health risk.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Safety Implications of Off-Label Medication Use in Athletes: A Narrative Review.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Multifactor Quality and Safety Analysis of Semaglutide Products Sold by Online Sellers Without a Prescription: Market Surveillance, Content Analysis, and Product Purchase Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Identification of Emotional Spectrums of Patients Taking an Erectile Dysfunction Medication: Ontology-Based Emotion Analysis of Patient Medication Reviews on Social Media.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- [Regulation of the online sale of medical products: experiences and strategies for Latin AmericaRegulamentação da venda de produtos médicos pela internet: experiências e estratégias para a América Latina].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2023Article
- Multifactor Quality and Safety Analysis of Antimicrobial Drugs Sold by Online Pharmacies That Do Not Require a Prescription: Multiphase Observational, Content Analysis, and Product Evaluation Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Article
- Prevalence of Poisoned Google Search Results of Erectile Dysfunction Medications Redirecting to Illegal Internet Pharmacies: Data Analysis Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Attitudes and behaviors regarding online pharmacies in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic: At the tipping point towards the new normal.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Article
- Improving access to medicines to reduce marketing and use of substandard and falsified medicines in Africa: Scoping review.The journal of medicine accessArticle
- A narrative review of illegal online pharmacies and contemporary issues with restricting FDA-approved medication access.The journal of medicine accessReview
- Substandard and falsified medical product recalls in Zambia from 2018 to 2021 and implications on the quality surveillance systems.The journal of medicine accessArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Simultaneous expansion of the Internet and increased globalisation of the pharmaceutical industry have meant medication can be accessed transnationally from both legal and illicit sources. This has coincided with the rise of substandard and falsified medicines (SFMs) online. These products fail to meet regulatory or quality standards and/or are constituted with substandard ingredients, causing undesired pharmacological effects, including possible injury and death. This review aimed to identify original research studies that examined characteristics of SFM online sales, attitudes towards purchasing medicines online and strategies to address this drug safety challenge. Keywords of 'Substandard' and 'Falsified'/'Counterfeit' and 'Medicines'/'Drugs' and 'Online'/'Internet' were searched using Web of Knowledge and PubMed databases. Resulting literature, which satisfied the study's inclusion criteria, was included in the review, and the findings from each paper were assessed. From an initial 185 literature articles, 7 were eligible according to the inclusion criteria to be reviewed. These articles identified studies testing SFMs purchased online, surveys of attitudes and knowledge about SFMs online, and website content analysis to detect illegal online sales. Challenges identified were lack of knowledge and awareness among consumers and physicians, in addition to the use of direct-to-consumer-advertising, via Internet platforms and social media, providing easy access to SFMs. Despite this, medicine authentication technology, website verification approaches and new detection methods were identified as potential solutions specific to online SFM sales. To address online sales of SFMs, more robust research, greater awareness/educational programmes, analytical detection methods and more stringent online global governance are required.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.