Instant Prescriptions for Online Drugs: Safety Must Not Be Sacrificed for Speed

Online drug purchasing has brought undeniable convenience to consumers—with just a few taps on an app, one can search for medications, pay, and wait for delivery. However, behind this ease lies hidden risks such as 'instant prescription' practices and perfunctory reviews, which threaten patients' medication safety.

Prescription drugs are not ordinary commodities; their use requires real medical conditions and professional diagnosis. Yet, some platforms' so-called 'intelligent consultations' are merely formalities: users select a few options, and the system automatically generates a prescription. In some cases, the process from uploading a prescription to completing payment takes only 5 seconds, with no real pharmacist involvement. This fake prescription model violates the basic principle of 'prescription first, drug later' in China's Drug Administration Law and puts patients at risk of improper medication. Additionally, some long-term prescription drugs covered by medical insurance, intended for chronic diseases, are being fraudulently obtained by illegal elements through fake registrations, endangering the safety of medical insurance funds.

The root causes of these irregularities lie in platforms' profit-driven motives and lagging supervision. To boost transaction volumes and attract users, some platforms lower the bar in prescription verification and issuance, even默许 fake medical conditions and bypassing reviews. Limited grassroots regulatory resources and cross-regional law enforcement difficulties further allow many violations to go undetected and unpunished.

Encouragingly, regulation is catching up. Recently, China's State Drug Administration released the 'Compliance Guidelines for Online Retail of Prescription Drugs,' which sets clear requirements on merchant qualifications, sales processes, information display, and platform responsibilities. Compared to the draft issued in September 2025, the final guidelines are significantly stricter—many mild terms like 'encourage' and 'suggest' have been replaced with mandatory phrases such as 'shall not' and 'must.' For example, it explicitly states that prescription reviews must be done by licensed pharmacists, and artificial intelligence cannot replace human review; no other staff can perform this task on their behalf.

These measures will undoubtedly promote the standardized development of online prescription drug sales, but effective implementation is key. This includes establishing a comprehensive prescription information sharing platform, promoting video consultations and face recognition to ensure consistency between patients, prescriptions, and drugs; and implementing a blacklist system for non-compliant platforms, imposing penalties or bans as needed. Patients also need to enhance risk awareness, not blindly pursue low prices or fast delivery, and be more cautious with high-risk prescription drugs like weight-loss pills and psychotropic medications. Only when platforms fulfill their responsibilities, regulators enforce strictly, and consumers supervise actively can the 'safety loophole' of instant prescriptions be effectively closed.

The safety of online drug purchases should never be sacrificed for speed—this is the essential appearance and bottom line of internet healthcare.

Sources

• Workers' Daily (July 16, 2026)
• State Drug Administration of China, 'Compliance Guidelines for Online Retail of Prescription Drugs'
• Legal Daily (July 14 report)