Online pharmacies are all the rage in buying medications, which is possible with the ease of people getting pills over the much-glorified internet without having to travel a block or so to reach a real pharmacy. Often these websites employ their own GPs whose job it is to analyze a customer’s condition and prescribe the appropriate medication – a welcome help for people who find visiting the local doctor very inconvenient, too expensive, or both.
With that in mind, however, all good things come with an inherent risk label. While most online pharmacy websites will only sell prescription pills to people with an actual prescription, it’s safe to say that there are some that don’t enforce this practice. As a result, some people turn to them to purchase medicines they otherwise would not have been able to purchase, which can potentially be a dangerous endeavor. One also runs the risk of ordering medication Buy Adderall Online from fraudulent online pharmacies that charge a fee but do not ship the goods. Still, some may come across very unprofessional websites.
Online pharmacy reviews secure you
Enter the saviors for most online pharmacy customers: the online pharmacy review sites. They act as the watchdogs of the online pharmacy game by examining every single pharmacy website and then sharing their findings to potential customers via virtual online pharmacy guides. These so-called “guides” suggest the best, most reliable sites to do business with, and raise the red flags when they find them inadequate and untrustworthy. The criteria they use to rate online pharmacies varies from site to site, but it mostly revolves around these factors: product quality, shipping, support, and overall reliability.
It’s often a good idea to check out these review sites to help you pick the best from the wide range of e-drug stores around the web. Research states that the online pharmacy industry has grown exponentially since 1998 – by 2010 the number of pharmacy sites will increase to around ten thousand.
Online pharmacy reviews should definitely not be taken lightly by pharmacy websites. Independent studies generally show that the ratings from these rating portals have a significant impact on consumer shopping behavior. Not only that, most of them employ people with expertise in the field to write the best pharmacy reviews. This is to ensure quality for consumers, that review writers have the necessary qualifications and transparency to back up what they say in their reviews and are not just random people employed by online pharmacy companies, trying to advance business or destroy other websites.
The user input factor
However, what is probably the best feature of online pharmacy reviews is their ability to provide feedback from those who have actually had the experience of shopping at online pharmacies. Such information is indispensable, because in the light of the author’s experience, a reader can decide which site to patronize. Granted, not all user reviews are perfect — some are just out to tarnish a business’s reputation — but they help.
Because of this, the same users are encouraged to be more transparent about their personal information and whether they actually bought pills from an online pharmacy to ensure quality reviews – and most respond positively. The harsh criticism from independent researchers generally notes that user ratings are usually uncannily accurate, although they say this is just a listing of opinions and should be judged as such. Therefore, those who read online pharmacy reviews are advised to consume them with a grain of salt.
The online pharmacy – How to buy medicines safely online
Security concerns when buying prescription drugs from online pharmacies revolve around issues related to your personal health, the legality of transactions and the protection of your personal information. Online pharmacies offer convenience and other benefits such as privacy and in some cases cheaper prices compared to traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacies, but without due diligence, buying prescription drugs online can be fraught with a number of harmful pitfalls.
To ensure the safety of prescription drugs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that drugs go through clinical safety studies 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 who dispense drugs manufactured outside the United States are not bound by federal regulations, which poses a health risk to those who choose to shop from them. Since some pharmacies, even within the United States, import and distribute non-FDA-approved drugs manufactured outside of the country, it is important to ensure that the online pharmacy you choose only dispenses FDA-approved prescription drugs. The main concerns about buying prescription drugs from fraudulent online pharmacies that dispense drugs that are not FDA approved is that the drugs you receive may be counterfeit, contaminated, subpotent, superpotent, or the wrong drug, which is what yours is could endanger health. In the worst case, you will not receive any medication despite payment. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the online pharmacy is licensed and based in the United States, and if not, that it is accredited and dispensing medications approved by its government.
Since rogue pharmacies typically want to be invisible and unavailable except in cyberspace, it is important to have up-to-date contact information in the form of a physical address and phone number. With this information, you can try to get a report from the Better Business Bureau. If a Better Business Bureau report isn’t available, you can do an advanced Dun & Bradstreet search to make sure the company actually exists. Avoid doing business with companies that only provide you with an e-mail address as a contact option. Aside from potentially preventing you from obtaining login credentials and information about business practices, providing just an email address can be an indicator of the quality of customer service that you may or may not expect. Also request the license number and any proof of accreditation from the pharmacy and then verify the information by the State Pharmacy Board of the state where the pharmacy is located, an extremely important step as some of the purported internet pharmacies are not really legitimate licensed establishments are. In addition to verifying license status and that the pharmacy is located in the United States and meets quality standards, state pharmacy boards 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 schemes. VIPPS pharmacy websites can also be identified by the VIPPS hyperlink seal displayed on their websites.
Many pharmacies advertise online that they will issue prescriptions without a doctor’s prescription, which can certainly pose a health risk if a prescription is issued without a thorough knowledge and understanding of your medical records. The pharmacies that do this tend to circumvent the legal requirement of a doctor-patient relationship by filling out a questionnaire that is said to be discussed with you by your doctor during a telephone consultation. If you choose to engage in this type of interaction and relationship (which I do not recommend), make sure that the pharmacy involved in this practice complies with the telemedicine laws of the state in which it is located, since the Definition of the establishment of a doctor-patient relationship varies from state to state. Also, obtain the credentials of the physician providing the telephone consultation, including the state in which he or she is licensed and the license number, and then verify this information with the medical board of the state in which the physician is licensed, to ensure that a valid license is available, it is kept for the federal state in which you are staying at the time of the telephone consultation. Otherwise, the relationship allegedly created over the phone and the Internet would not be legitimate insofar as the interaction would be tantamount to practicing medicine without a license to practice medicine. The take-home message is: do not buy prescription drugs online without the prescription of a doctor who is thoroughly familiar with your health history, based not only on subjective information but also on objective data, including a physical exam, laboratory tests, and x-rays, if justified. A doctor’s order also prevents the unauthorized substitution of brand name drugs with generic prescription drugs. So make sure you know whether or not your doctor has approved generic replacements, and if not, make sure you know what the brand name pill looks like before it comes after shipping. The best way to become 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.
Although the legal ramifications of failing to comply with federal and state laws relating to the sale, importation, and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs generally rest with the pharmacy, the purchase and possession of controlled substances, such as narcotics, without a doctor’s prescription can result in legal ramifications for the pharmacy lead buyers, depending on the country of residence. So the message is the same. Do not purchase prescription drugs, especially controlled substances, without a doctor’s prescription. If you decide to purchase medication that is not available in the United States and is not FDA approved from a foreign online pharmacy for the treatment of a condition for which your doctor believes it is indicated, be sure to obtain a letter or get and keep a note from your doctor saying so.
After you have conducted the above research and are happy with the results, the final step should be to ensure that any private personal information submitted is protected and that your online transactions are secure. Make sure the website in question has a well-written privacy policy that assures you that your information will not be shared or sold to third parties for marketing purposes, thereby making you a target for spam emails. Also, make sure your online credit card purchase is secure to protect against identity theft. This can generally be done by looking for the lock icon to oxycodone for sale the right of your browser’s address bar before entering your credit card and other transaction information. Since credit card transactions can never be 100% secure due to what could happen to the information after it is retrieved from the system, it makes sense to find out whether or not the pharmacy accepts other forms of payment, or even file it with your insurance company.
In summary, before purchasing any medication online, you should conduct the necessary and proper investigation of an online pharmacy to maximize the likelihood of a medically, legally, financially, and emotionally safe buying experience.
Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for medical advice from a qualified professional. If you are seeking legal advice or are in any doubt about your medical condition, you should consult an attorney and/or doctor.