Note: this resolution was adopted with minor modification at the Idaho Medical Association's Annual Meeting, July 22-24, 1999, in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
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WHEREAS the internet is undergoing explosive growth in both the number of users and the number of websites; and

WHEREAS the internet is a haven for fraud and deception by sophisticated computer programmers and hackers; and

WHEREAS physicians currently are prescribing medications online, to people they know only through communication over the internet; and

WHEREAS pharmacies from around the world have widely varying levels of regulation, and will ship controlled medications into the United States; and

WHEREAS the physician's role is to protect not only individual patients but also the public health; and

WHEREAS the benefits of the internet should be utilized to maximally benefit the public, while at the same time protecting the public from medical fraud; therefore be it

RESOLVED that it be the policy of the Idaho Medical Association (IMA) to support measures to create safe and reasonable standards and regulations for the practice of medicine online; and be it further

RESOLVED that the IMA petition the American Medical Association to conduct a thorough evaluation of the current state of online medicine and propose standards and regulations which will maximize the benefits of online medicine while reducing the risks of fraud and deception; and be it further

RESOLVED that the IMA support the safe utilization of the internet to improve the public health.