NABP Launches Pharmacy Authenticated Licensure Service Program — Verizon Directories Corp.’s SuperPages.com® Internet Yellow Pages Service First to Utilize PALS Program

June 30, 2006 12:00 AM

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) is pleased to announce that the launch of its Pharmacy Authenticated Licensure Service^™ (PALS^™) program will provide credible licensure authentication services of pharmacists and online pharmacies to the boards of pharmacy and outside entities.

The rapid growth of online pharmacies that offer pharmaceutical services brought with it challenges for those entities wishing to ensure that these online pharmacies are operating with a valid license. PALS was developed to meet these challenges and to authenticate licensure for the boards of pharmacy, the public, and other organizations. This licensure authentication will provide a directory of qualified pharmacies and pharmacists-in-charge (PIC) that can be referenced by the public, authenticating the legitimacy of online pharmacies. PALS pharmacies will be issued a PALS hyperlink to post on their Web sites. By clicking on the link, a visitor is brought to the NABP PALS site where authenticated information about the pharmacy is maintained by NABP. Entities that provide advertising services can easily identify PALS pharmacies and limit their clients to those pharmacies that are authenticated to be appropriately licensed, helping to protect the public health.

“NABP believes that PALS will be of tremendous value to its users and the boards of pharmacy because the program will provide credible licensure authentication services and will aid in the protection of public health,” states Lawrence H. Mokhiber, NABP president. “NABP is also pleased to announce Verizon Directories Corp. (“Verizon”) as PALS’ first participant.”

Upon completion of the authentication process, NABP will provide to Verizon, for use in its SuperPages.com service, relevant information that will state whether or not the online pharmacy and PIC are appropriately licensed in all applicable states so that users will have that knowledge prior to doing business with the online pharmacy. SuperPages.com is the premier Internet yellow pages and local information source.

For more information on PALS, please contact NABP at 847/391-4406 or via e-mail at custserv@nabp.net, or visit NABP’s Web site at www.nabp.net.

NABP is the independent, international, and impartial Association that assists its member boards and jurisdictions in developing, implementing, and enforcing uniform standards for the purpose of protecting the public health.

Larissa Doucette