Seven Reasons You Need To Stop Stressing About Online Pharmacies

Safety concerns regarding buying prescriptions online pharmacy revolve around issues regarding your personal health, the legality of transactions, and protection of your personal information. Online pharmacies provide convenience and other advantages for example privacy and in certain cases cheaper prices compared to the traditional local pharmacy, but without due diligence the buying of prescription medication online may be fraught with a number of deleterious pitfalls.

To be sure the safety of prescribed drugs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that medications undergo safety clinical trials, and that the benefits outweigh the risks related to a drug before it really is approved for marketing and sale inside america. Unfortunately pharmacists outside the states that dispense drugs manufactured outside of the country are not bound by federal regulations, posing a health hazard for those who choose to buy from them. Because some pharmacies, even in the USA, import and distribute non-FDA approved drugs manufactured outside of the country, it is important to make sure that the on-line pharmacy you choose only dispenses FDA approved drugs. The main concerns about purchasing prescription medication from rogue online pharmacies that dispense drugs not approved by the FDA approved are, the drugs you will get may very well be counterfeit, contaminated, sub-potent, super potent or the wrong drug, all of which could jeopardize your health. In the worst-case scenario, you may not receive any medication at all despite paying for it. Because of this, it is important to make certain that the on-line pharmacy is licensed and based inside the usa and if not that it is accredited and dispenses drugs approved by its government.

Since rogue pharmacies usually want to be invisible and unreachable except in cyberspace, it is very important to acquire up-to-date contact information in the form of a physical address and telephone number. With that information you may attempt to obtain a better Business Bureau report. If an even better Business Bureau report is not available you can then do an advanced Dun & Bradstreet search to ensure that the business does in fact exist. Avoid conducting business with operations that only provide you with an email address as a form of contact. Together with possibly precluding you from obtaining credentials and details about business practices, the provision of just an email address may be an indicator of the quality of customer service you may expect or not expect. Also obtain the license number and any accreditation credentials from the pharmacy then verify the information over the state pharmacy board of their state by which the pharmacy is based, an all important step because several of the alleged Internet pharmacies are not really legitimate licensed operations. In addition to verifying license status as well as the idea that the affordable pharmacy is located in the nation and meets quality standards, state boards of pharmacy or even the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) also can let you know if an online pharmacy is accredited by Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) or other recognized accreditation programs. VIPPS pharmacy sites may also be identified by the VIPPS hyperlink seal displayed on their Sites.

Many pharmacies online advertise the filling of prescriptions without having a doctor's order which can definitely be a health hazard if a prescription is filled with no thorough knowledge and understanding of your health record. The pharmacies that do this often hurdle the legal requirement of a doctor/patient relationship by having you fill out a questionnaire which is supposedly reviewed with you by their doctor during a telephone consultation. If you elect to participate in this type of interaction and relationship (which I do not recommend) make sure that the pharmacy engaging in the practice is compliant with the telemedicine laws of the state in which it really is based since the definition of the establishment of a doctor/patient relationship varies from region to region. Also obtain the credentials of the doctor providing the telephone consultation including the state in which they are licensed and the license number, then verify that information through the medical board of their state by which the doctor is licensed to make sure that a valid license is held for the region in which you are located during the time of the phone consultation. Otherwise the alleged relationship established by telephone and Internet may not be a legitimate one inasmuch as the interaction could be tantamount to the practice of medicine with no license. The take-home message is avoid buying drugs online without the order of a physician who's thoroughly experienced with your health history based not just on subjective information, but objective data as well including a physical examination, laboratory tests and x-rays if warranted. A doctor's order also prevents the unauthorized substitution of generic prescription medication for brand-name medication, so make sure you know whether or not their doctor has authorized generic substitution, and if not be sure you know what the brand-name pill looks like before it arrives following shipment. The best way to be familiar with what brand-name pills look like is to order the very first prescription from a local pharmacy and keep one or two of the pills within their respective bottles for comparison when your shipment arrives.

However the legal ramifications of not being compliant with federal and state laws regarding the sale, importation and distribution of pharmaceutical medications generally rest with the pharmacy, the purchase and possession of controlled substances for example narcotics without having a doctor's prescription can result in legal consequences for the buyer, determined by the region of residence. Thus, the message will be the same. Don't buy prescription medicines, particularly controlled substances, without a doctor's prescription. If you are elect to buy medication not accessible in america and not approved through the FDA from a foreign Internet pharmacy for treatment of a condition for which your physician feels it's indicated, be sure you obtain and keep on record a letter or note from your physician stating that.

After you have conducted the aforementioned research and you are satisfied with the end result the final step should be to ensure that any private personal data submitted is protected and that the online transactions are secure. Make sure that the particular website has a well stated privacy policy assuring you that your information will not be shared with or sold to anyone for the idea of marketing therefore making you a target for spam e-mailing. Also make sure that your online card purchase is secure to protect yourself from identity theft. This can generally be completed by looking for the lock icon to the correct of the address bar of your browser before entering your card as well as other transaction information. Since card transactions can never be 100% secure as a result of what might happen to the information after is retrieved from the system, it's reasonable to find out whether the pharmacy will accept other forms of payment or maybe file with your insurance company.

To summarize, do the mandatory and appropriate investigation of an online pharmacy before buying medications online so as to optimize the likelihood of a medically, legally, financially and emotionally safe buying experience.