FDA warns physicians to stop buying medications from unapproved sources.

Medscape (4/19, Hitt) reports, "Clinicians in several states have been warned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop purchasing medications from foreign or unlicensed suppliers that sell illegal prescription medications." The agency "has sent letters to medical practices in 12 states who reportedly engaged in purchasing these illegal prescription medications." In a statement posted this week, the FDA said, "These medical practices are putting patients at risk of exposure to medications that may be counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective, and dangerous," and added, "To minimize the chance of patients receiving a counterfeit, unsafe, or ineffective medication, FDA is requesting that the medical practices stop administering drugs purchased from any foreign or unlicensed source."