Hoping to head off a costly regulatory crackdown, Internet pharmacists in Manitoba are calling on Ottawa to change the laws governing their business.

After a meeting between a lobby group acting on behalf of the province’s 55 Internet pharmacists, industry, the deputy health minister and provincial regulators, the parties left sounding an optimistic note and a plan to meet again soon.

But their disagreements remain unresolved.

While pharmacists are calling for changes that would allow them to legally fill U.S. prescriptions, drug makers argue that if the government doesn’t shut the cyber dispensers down Canadians could be faced with drug shortages.

“We want patients to be able to access the medicines they need when they need them and this is what this trade is jeopardizing,” brand-name drug maker spokesperson Jacques Lefebvre told CTV News.

“They do nothing for Canadian patients, nothing.”

Nevertheless, the online cross-border drug trade represents a lucrative billion dollar business - an estimated half of which is located in Manitoba. And that’s why the provincial government convened Monday’s meeting.

The key sticking point is American patients’ keen interest in lower-priced Canadian drugs, and the ability to log on and have their U.S. prescription filled online.

That’s possible with the help of Canadian doctors, who currently review the original doctor’s diagnosis and then co-sign the American prescription.

But Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons registrar Dr. Bill Pope questions the ethics of filling prescriptions without ever seeing the patient.

“Are they acting professionally, ethically and responsibly to the patients that they serve and the answer in this case is: ‘No’,” Pope said.

According to the president of the Manitoba Pharmaceuticals Association, Gary Cavanagh, his association is “looking to maybe be on the cutting edge of making some changes.”

“Anything’s possible. If we come up with what we feel is a good solution for Manitoba, maybe we could propose it federally as well and see if it could work across the country.’‘

The Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association recently said that it would begin suspending licences for pharmacists caught filling prescriptions written by doctors who have not properly examined a patient.

Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has said he’s considering updating the federal Food and Drug Act to make it virtually impossible for doctors to write prescriptions to be filled online.

“We are a small country. We cannot be the drug store for the United States of America,” Dosanjh said on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday.

The President of the Manitoba International Pharmacists Association believes that would be a mistake.

Mark Rzepka told The Canadian Press that his group believes in patient safety and the need for ethical conduct, but also believes there is a growing need for distance care.

“The issue at hand is whether or not a physician needs to have the patient’s body part in their hand when they’re prescribing or doing a consult,’’ Rzepka said.

In the meantime, however, Cavanagh said his association will keep following up on individual complaints.

Prepared with files from CTV’s Paula Newton and The Canadian Press