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Manchester, VT., March 30, 2004 As the debate continues about
importation of prescription drugs, consumers and state governments look to IMPAC™ (Internet and Mailorder
Pharmacy Accreditation Commission) to identify safe and high quality mailorder pharmacies. Minit Drugs and
www.pharmacy-online.ca is the newest mailorder pharmacy to be accredited by IMPAC™.
Minit Drugs at 400 Crowfoot Crescent, NW, in Calgary, Alberta was fully accredited on Friday, March 12, 2004.
According to Barney Britton, Minit Drugs President and CEO, “The IMPAC™ accreditation is both a validation and
compliment to Minit Drugs pharmacy standards in dispensing high-quality, safe medications to all patients. This
is an exciting and positive development that we believe will yield significant confidence to all our customers.
Minit Drugs will now be able to help more patients, in more ways, order affordable prescription drugs with
confidence.”
Minit Drugs chose their flagship pharmacy, located at 400 Crowfoot Crescent in Calgary, Alberta, to be
accredited. The other pharmacies, that do dispensing for Minit Drugs, were not accredited at this time. Minit
Drugs’ flagship pharmacy, Minit Drugs Call Center and www.pharmacy-online.ca have earned the right to display the
IMPAC™ seal on their website and in their advertising. Minit Drugs will also be listed as an accredited pharmacy
on the website of NorthAmerican-Pharmotherapeutic Consultants Association’s website,
www.na-pca.org.
Many state and local governments are developing their own websites to recommend Canadian pharmacies to their
citizens. They are offering Canadian mailorder pharmacies
as an alternative for access to affordable prescription drugs. However, they have concerns about quality and
safety. Many of these governments are turning to IMPAC™, an independent U.S based commission, to identify high
quality pharmacies in Canada, United States and other countries. The State of Minnesota was the first state to
use IMPAC™ accreditation as part of their evaluation process for mailorder pharmacies.
IMPAC Accredits Canadian Pharmacy
Minit Drugs selected IMPAC™ for accreditation because it is an independent, United States based authority on
pharmacy standards. Mr. Britton noted that “We value an independent non-biased critic of our procedures and
standards as we constantly strive to maintain and improve our business processes making them second to none.”
IMPAC™ accreditation means that the mailorder pharmacy is in full compliance with over 90 quality standards. The
compliance to the standards has been verified by an on-site inspection and survey. A pharmacy surveyor and
administrative surveyor spent two days at Minit Drugs reviewing documents, interviewing staff, inspecting the
facility and observing processes. According to Dana Noble, Executive Director of NorthAmerican-Pharmotherapeutic
Consultants Association, “the survey is a very comprehensive and rigorous evaluation which separates those
pharmacies working to provide high quality, from those pharmacies that do not have excellent clinical and
operational processes in place.”
IMPAC™ was developed in response to concerns expressed by consumers and the government about the quality and
safety of prescription drugs from mailorder pharmacies. It is endorsed by NorthAmerican-Pharmotherapeutic
Consultants Association, which is an international professional association of physicians and pharmacists. It is
independent and receives no funding or support from the pharmaceutical industry or mailorder pharmacy industry.
“Our independence allows us to focus on the quality and safety of the mailorder pharmacy industry internationally
and to serve as a resource for consumers,” notes Ms. Noble.
“I applaud IMPAC™. It is a shame, but not surprising that this private effort-like that which IMPAC™ leads, are
way ahead of our own federal government agencies that are sworn to protect the health and safety of the American
people.” Congressman Gil Gutknecht (R-MN)
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