Safety concerns
regarding buying prescription medications online pharmacy revolve around issues
pertaining to your personal health, the legality of transactions, and
protection of your personal information. Online pharmacies provide convenience
and other advantages such as privacy and in some cases cheaper prices compared
to the traditional brick and mortar pharmacy, but without due diligence the
buying of prescription medication online can be fraught with a number of
deleterious pitfalls. ROCHAS
To ensure the
safety of prescription medications the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
requires that medications go through safety clinical trials, and that the
benefits outweigh the risks associated with a drug before it is approved for
marketing and sale in the United States. Unfortunately pharmacists outside the
United States that dispense drugs manufactured outside of the United States are
not bound by federal regulations, posing a health hazard for those who choose
to purchase from them. Because some pharmacies, even within the United States,
import and distribute non-FDA approved drugs manufactured outside of the
country, it is important to make sure that the online pharmacy you choose only
dispenses FDA approved prescription medications. The main concerns about
purchasing prescription medication from rogue online pharmacies that dispense
drugs not approved by the FDA approved are, the drugs you receive might 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. Therefore, it is important
to make sure that the online pharmacy is licensed and based in the United
States and if not that it is accredited and dispenses drugs approved by its
government. Speed Stick
Since rogue
pharmacies tend to want to be invisible and unreachable except in cyberspace,
it is important to obtain up-to-date contact information in the form of a
physical address and telephone number. With that information you can attempt to
obtain a Better Business Bureau report.
If a Better Business Bureau report is not available you can then do an
advanced Dun & Bradstreet search to make sure that the business does in
fact exist. Avoid doing business with operations that only provide you with an
e-mail address as a form of contact. In addition to possibly precluding you
from obtaining credentials and information about business practices, the
provision of just an e-mail address might be an indicator of the quality of
customer service you can expect or not expect. Also obtain the license number
and any accreditation credentials from the pharmacy then verify the information
through the state pharmacy board of the state in which the pharmacy is based,
an all important step because some of the alleged Internet pharmacies are not
really legitimate licensed operations. In addition to verifying license status
and the fact that the pharmacy is located in the United States and meets
quality standards, state boards of pharmacy or the National Association of
Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) can also let you know if an online pharmacy is
accredited by Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) or other
recognized accreditation programs. VIPPS
pharmacy sites can also be identified by the VIPPS hyperlink seal displayed on
their Web sites. Vaseline
Many pharmacies
online advertise the filling of prescriptions without a doctor's order which
can certainly be a health hazard if a prescription is filled without a thorough
knowledge and understanding of your health record. The pharmacies that do this
tend to 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) be sure that
the pharmacy engaging in this practice is compliant with the telemedicine laws
of the state in which it is based since the definition of the establishment of
a doctor/patient relationship varies from state to state. Also obtain the
credentials of the doctor providing the telephone consultation including the
state in which he or she is licensed and the license number, then verify that
information through the medical board of the state in which the doctor is
licensed to make sure that a valid license is held for the state in which you
are located at the time of the telephone consultation. Otherwise the alleged
relationship established by telephone and Internet would not be a legitimate
one inasmuch as the interaction would be tantamount to the practice of medicine
without a license. The take-home message is avoid buying prescription
medications online without the order of a physician who is thoroughly familiar
with your health history based not only 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 to 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 first prescription from a local
pharmacy and keep one or two of the pills in their respective bottles for
comparison when your shipment arrives. Versace
Although 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 such as narcotics without a doctor's prescription can result in
legal consequences for the buyer, depending on the state of residence. Thus,
the message is the same. Do not buy prescription medications, particularly
controlled substances, without a doctor's prescription. If you are elect to
purchase medication not available in the United States and not approved by the
FDA from a foreign Internet pharmacy for treatment of a condition for which
your doctor feels it is indicated, be sure to obtain and keep on record a
letter or note from your physician stating that.
After you have
conducted the above research and you are satisfied with the results the final
step should be to make sure that any private personal information submitted is
protected and that your 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 purpose of
marketing thus making you a target for spam e-mailing. Also make sure that your online credit card
purchase is secure to protect yourself from identity theft. This can generally
be done by looking for the lock icon to the right of the address bar of your
browser before entering your credit card and other transaction information.
Since credit card transactions can never be 100% secure because of what might
happen to the information after is retrieved from the system, it is reasonable
to find out whether or not the pharmacy will accept other forms of payment or
even file with your insurance company.
In summary, do
the necessary 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.
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