TICK boxes allowing patients to prevent information about their symptoms being shared with their GPs, when ordering medications from online pharmacies needs to be blocked, after a former nurse overdosed on codeine bought on the internet.
The parents of Katie Corrigan (38) noted the mother of two had been prescribed codeine by her GP to manage a chronic neck problem, but the doctor had cut off her supply when he became aware that she was dependent on the medication.
"Despite no longer having the prescription, Katie was able to access it so easily online," her mother, Christine Taylor, said.
"Tougher regulation is long overdue.
"It is not just the ease with which you can obtain these drugs online.
"It's the fact that you can do so without your own doctor even being aware."
Taylor said patients using online prescription services could tell the doctor "real or made-up" symptoms to access medication and say they did not want their GP informed about it.
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