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NEWS
THE BATTALION
Monday, June 4, 2001
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The pantastko Chronicles BY J. GOLDFLUTE
State tries to stop online
Officials concerned about pharmacies
accepting Net, phone doctor prescriptions
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — State, offi
cials are working to regulate doctors
who consult with patients solely via the
Internet and telephone, and pharma
cists who accept those doctors’ pre
scriptions for drugs.
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy
last week adopted a policy barring drug
gists from dispensing medications “if
the pharmacist knows or should have
known that the prescription was issued
based on an Internet or telephonic con
sultation without a valid patient-practi
tioner relationship.”
Similar language is included in recent
ly approved legislation awaiting the sig
nature of Gov. Rick Perry.
“They’re making prescription medi
cine available to consumers without real
ly knowing anything about the con
sumers,” Tom Kelley, spokesman for the
attorney general’s office, told The San An
tonio Express-News Sunday. “It’s a viola
tion of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act
and it’s a public danger situation.”
State officials say only three Texas doc
tors have been disciplined for their work
prescribing pills via the Internet, and that
two of them worked for Bill Stallknecht,
owner of Pill Box Pharmacy.
One of them was Dr. David L. Bryson,
who was offered work by Pill Box after
losing his job at Kerrville State Hospital,
being sued and filing for bankruptcy.
From 1999 until February, Bryson says
he made as much as $9,000 a week con
sulting with patients by phone from his
Kerrville home and writing prescriptions
for the San Antonio pharmacy to fill by
mail. He said the job also initially in
volved writing prescriptions based on pa
tients’ answers to online questionnaires.
“I was very good at it,” Bryson, 63,
said. “I was very successful.”
The State Board of Medical Examin
ers, which considers remote consulta
tions an improper medical practice, sus
pended Bryson’s medical license in
February.
“It is unprofessional conduct for a
physician to initially prescribe any dan
gerous drugs or controlled substances
without first establishing a proper physi
cian-patient relationship,” says the
board’s Internet prescribing policy,
adopted in December 1999.
doctors
The policy says a “proper” relationship
requires, at a minimum, verifying a pa
tient’s identity, obtaining a patient’s med
ical history and ensuring access to follow
up care. Such policies are being adopted
across the nation by regulators.
Pill Box paid a $15,000 penalty to
Missouri in 1999 and .agreed to cease
drug deliveries there after being sued by
the state.
Stallknecht said he still provides online
services in 49 states, but declined further
comment:
Bryson is fighting his license suspen
sion and the notion that long-distance
consultations cannot deliver a profes
sional standard of care.
He will make his case June 25 in Austin
before an administrative law judge, who
could reinstate Bryson’s license or take
punitive actions ranging from a repri
mand to license revocation.
Taiwan's Chen
in Houston with
congressmen
HOUSTON (AP) — Tai
wanese President Chen Shui-
bian spent Sunday in Houston
lunching at a steakhouse with
members of Congress and at
tending an Astros game, shad
owed everywhere by expatri
ate Chinese and Taiwanese
eager to be heard on the issue
of Taiwan’s status.
“Why have one country
widi two systems when one of
the systems is bad? Why?”
asked Chen supporter David
Lu, who drove in from Austin
with about 50 like-minded oth
ers. “Logically it is impossible.”
Other demonstrators were
organized by the Greater
Houston Supporting One
China Alliance, whose mem
bers say their goal is not to im
pose communism on Taiwan,
but to foster eventual reunifi
cation and avoid civil war.
Sam Wong of Houston,
who came to the United
States from mainland China,
likened the division between
China and Taiwan to the U.S.
Civil War.
“That’s why Lincoln was so
great: He preserved the
American nation,” Wong
said. “The Chinese will look
at it the same way. Nobody
wants war.”
Mainland China sees Tai
wan as a province lost amid
civil war in 1949. Chinese of
ficials believe granting Tai
wan’s presidents visiting
rights violates the U.S. one-
China policy, which recog
nizes only one Chinese gov
ernment, the mainland, but
insists that unification must
be done peacefully.
On his way in to lunch,
Chen smiled and waved to the
cheering, chanting hundreds
greeting him at Taste of Texas
restaurant before heading in
to dine with U.S. House Ma
jority Whip Tom DeLay, R-
Texas; Kevin Brady, R-The
Woodlands; and Gene Green,
D-Houston.
Fie did not address the
crowd, in which his backers
outnumbered opponents
about 3-1.
DeLay told the crowd that
the timing of Chen’s visit on
the eve of the anniversary of
the June 4, 1989, crackdown
at Beijing’s Tiananmen
Square was noteworthy.
About 47,000 Houstonians
list themselves as being of
Chinese descent, according to
the 2000 Census. About
20,000 Chinese-Americans
live in DeLay’s district.
Toldeo
Continued from Page 1
“El cambio ya llego, Toledo ya
gano!” — Change has arrived,
Toledo’s already won — chanted
the crowd that had gathered in
front of Toledo’s headquarters.
The crowd, composed of all
races and economic classes,
was representative of Peru’s
population.
“I am elated that Toledo
won,” said cab driver Marcial
Bello. “I’m a businessman, but
look at me! What am I doing
driving a cab! Toledo will bring
more work — more movement
in the economy.”
Toledo, a shoeshine boy who
received a scholarship to Stan
ford and became a World Bank
economist, relied heavily on his
Indian features to gain support
among Peru’s indigenous mass
es. Many indigenous supporters
refer to him as “Pachacutec,” an
ancient Inca emperor.
Garcia, the silver-tongued
former president, narrowed the
gap with Toledo to as little as
four points the week before elec
tions. The possibility of a second
Garcia presidency worried many
foreign investors, as well as Pe
ruvian businessmen. During his
presidency, from 1985-1990, in
flation soared to more than
7,000 percent, he attempted to
nationalize the bank system and
terrorism reached peak levels.
As a result, the economy was
a key topic during debates.
Juan Jose Marthans, one of
four economic advisers to Tole
do, said their team is confident
they can save Peru from its cri
sis by reactivating its economy.
Peru has one of the highest
Latin American rates of unem
ployment, he said. More than 50
percent of the population in the
active economy is unemployed
or underemployed.
“The worries that were gen
erated in Peru as a result of
Alan Garcia’s candidacy ...
knocked Peru even deeper into
recession,” Marthans said. “In
the next months there will be
teams sent to New York and key
I am elated
that Toledo won.”
— Marcial Bello
cab driver
financial cities in Europe in
hopes to reactivate the econo
my by promoting investment.”
Garcia left Peru in exile in
1990 amid corruption charges,
returned in January after the ac
cusations against him expired
and ran a successful campaign
behind the promise that he had
learned from his mistakes.
Late Sunday, Garcia conced
ed and said in a televised speech
that “[Toledo] will have a loyal
collaborator in me ... I will give
him all my help.”
Many Peruvians were not
happy with either candidate and
cast blank or spoiled ballots.
Voting is mandatory in Peru.
The elections signaled the
end of a year of political chaos
that arose from former Presi
dent Alberto Fujimori’s 2000 re-
election, which was marred with
accusations of fraud and corrup
tion. Toledo boycotted that
runoff.
“It’s a just prize for Toledo,”
said Roberto Aleman, who wait
ed with his three young children
for hours to hear Toledo. “Last
year he ran a strong campaign
. against Fujimori’s dictatorship,
but had his victory robbed.”
The country plunged deeper
into turmoil following the Sept.
14, 2000 leak of a video that
showed a congressman accept
ing $15,000 from spymaster
Vladimiro Montesinos to cross
over to Fujimori’s Peru 2000
party.
Since then, dozens of videos
have been released, incriminat
ing many former Peruvian offi
cials as members of an intricate
web of corruption. More than
$250 million held in foreign ac
counts have been frozen.
Interim president Valentin
Paniagua announced the cre
ation of a Truth Commission to
ensure justice.
Engineering
Continued from Page 1
Overall, the University
awarded 22 doctoral degrees to
Hispanics, 12 to men and 10 to
women, which is the eighth
most in the country. A&M also
ranked 10th in the nation for
bachelor’s degrees awarded to
Hispanics with 751 total, with
387 to men and 364 to women.
Tips
Continued from Page 1
Slack said. “If you study real well
then you don’t spend a whole lot
of time studying.”
On the other hand, he said
poor study skills can come back
to haunt you every few weeks or
at the end of every semester.
Chris Burns, a junior civil en
gineering major, said it took him
at least a couple of semesters to
get comfortable with studying.
“Now I try to stay ahead,”
Burns said. “I like to read the
chapter ahead of time so I al
ready know what’s going on in
class.”
Burns said he completes
homework assignments the
night they were assigned.
“This is so the material is
fresh in my mind and I don’t
have to spend so much time go
ing back and looking over mate
rial I already learned.”
Burns views college as he
would a real career.
“I act like school is a job and I
go from 9-to-5,” Burns said.
“And if I don’t have class until
five, I still study until then. That
way I get all my studying done,
leaving me the rest of the night
to do whatever I want.”
Burns may have learned to
obtain academic success on his
own, but those who would like
advice on how to improve their
academic life may call Student
Counseling Services (SCS)
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. at 845-4427.
The SCS offers help with mo
tivation, time management,
study skills, note taking, test anx
iety and other problems.
Students who are currently
enrolled at A&M are entitled to
these services at no charge.
Veterinary
Continued from Page 1
of rural large-animal practition
ers. Texas A&M’s veterinary
school graduates 115 to 118 stu
dents a year, with many prefer
ring to practice on small animals
in urban areas, Allen said.
Increasingly, Texas is issuing
veterinary licenses to students
graduating from Caribbean in
stitutions such as Ross Universi
ty in St. Kitts, Allen said.
Also signing the letter to
Montford were Sen. David
Cain, D-Dallas; Sen. Todd Sta
ples, R-Palestine; Rep. Barry
Teleford, D-DeKalb; Rep. Mark
Homer, D-Paris; Rep. Tom
Ramsay, D-Mount Vernon;
Rep. Bob Glaze, D-Gilmer;
Rep. Paul Sadler, D-Henderson;
and Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler.
IMMANUEL 8c HELEN OLSHAN
Enjoy the music,of
TEXAS
MUSIC
FESTIVAL
JUNE 3-JUNE 30, 2001
Moores School of Music university of Houston
TICKETS!
845-1234
Student $5, Regular $10
Bach, Bernstein,
Haydn, Ponce,
Schubert, and more!
Orchestra Concerts
Friday, June 8
Friday, June 29
All concerts at the George Bush Conference Center except June 11
concert at Christ United Methodist Church, College Station.
Chamber Music Concerts
Monday, June 4
Monday, June 11
Monday, June 18
Monday, June 25
0PAS
""BATTALION
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Karen Weinberg, Design Director
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