Buying prescription drugs online can be risky business for a consumer. Finding legitimate prescription drugs online, especially with websites that appear to be professional and offer huge discounts, can also be confusing to the consumer. This article will discuss the dos and don’t associated with purchasing prescription drugs online.
When purchasing prescription drugs online, beware of the following:
- Illegal websites pose a risk. When you buy prescription drugs online, they could be contaminated or counterfeit, the wrong product, or an incorrect dose.
- Many online prescription drug sites do not ensure that the patient gets a diagnosis from a licensed doctor. Buying unsafe or inappropriate prescription drugs online puts you at risk for dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences.
- Getting prescription drugs online by filling out a questionnaire without seeing a doctor poses serious health risks. A questionnaire does not provide suitable information for a healthcare professional to determine whether or not that drug is for you or safe to use, if another treatment is more appropriate, or if you have an underlying medical condition where using that drug might be harmful. The American Medical Association has determined that this practice is generally substandard medical care. The FDA agrees.
The FDA offers these suggestions for purchasing prescription drugs online:
- Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (www.nabp.net, (847)698-6227) to determine whether a website is a licensed pharmacy in good standing.
- Don't buy prescription drugs online from sites that offer to prescribe a prescription drug for the first time without a physical exam, sell a prescription drug without a prescription, or sell drugs not approved by the FDA.
- Don't do business with sites that have no access to a registered pharmacist that can answer questions about buying prescription drugs online.
- Stay away from sites that do not identify with whom you are dealing and do not provide a U.S. address and phone number to contact, if there's a problem.
- Don't purchase from foreign sites that sell prescription drugs online because normally it will be illegal to import the drugs bought from these sites, the risks are greater, and there is very little the U.S. government can do if you get ripped off buying prescription drugs online from them.
- Beware of sites that advertise a "new cure" for a serious disorder or a quick cure-all for a wide range of ailments.
- Be careful of sites that use impressive-sounding terminology to disguise a lack of good science or those that claim the government, the medical profession, or research scientists have conspired to suppress a product — they’re probably conspiring for a good reason.
- Stay away from websites that include undocumented case histories claiming "amazing" results from purchasing prescription drugs online.
- Talk to your health-care professional before using any medications or prescription drugs online for the first time.
In the end, just be careful when choosing to purchase prescription drugs online. If you suspect that a site is illegal, you can report it to the FDA at: fda.gov/oc/buyonline/buyonlineform.htm.
By R. S. Wagner