Prescription Drugs purchasing through Online

The American Cancer Society does not have an official stance regarding the purchase of drugs online from either the US or from other countries, but the following information could be useful.

It could be that Buy Prescription drugs online saves you approximately 20% to 30%, but in most cases, there is no way to guarantee product safety. Counterfeit medicines can be found everywhere. If you buy medical products online, be aware of the following:

Buying medicines from an illegitimate website puts you at risk. It could be that you receive a contaminated, altered or false product, or that you receive the wrong product, an incorrect dose or a pill that has no active ingredient (read on to find out how you can find reliable websites).

Taking an unsafe medicine puts you at risk of serious health problems, as well as dangerous reactions with other medications. When illegal websites sell medications that are not what they claim to be, you do not know what you are taking. If you receive incorrect medication, this will not help with the health problem for which the medication was prescribed. There is no way to avoid the risk of serious reactions between medications and unexpected or unknown side effects.

Completing a questionnaire to get a prescription without seeing a doctor can be seriously risky for your health. When you complete a questionnaire, the answers often do not provide enough information for a professional doctor to decide if a certain medication is appropriate for you, safe to use, or if another treatment may be better, or if you suffer from an underlying disease in which The use of that medicine could be harmful to you. The American Medical Association has observed that this practice is generally below the standard of medical care. It is best to see a doctor.

What should you pay attention to when looking for a pharmacy on the Internet?

Consider these tips when you are looking for a reliable pharmacy where you can buy medical products online:

Contact the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (at www.nabp.net or 847-391-4406) to find out if the website is a reputable authorized pharmacy. It also has a special section with information about buying medications online, counterfeit drugs and websites that you should avoid.

Refer to the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Seal CM program page of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website, also known for its abbreviation VIPPS ® Seal.

Check that security and confidentiality policies are easy to find and understand. Do not provide personal information (your social security number, date of birth, credit card number or health history) unless you are certain that the site will protect this information. Make sure the site will not share your information with others without your permission.

What to avoid with online pharmacies

Don't buy from websites that offer to prescribe a drug for the first time without a physical exam

Do not buy from websites that offer to sell a prescription drug without a prescription

Do not buy from websites that offer to sell drugs that are not approved by the FDA.

Avoid sites that do not identify who is serving you. This includes those sites that send unwanted emails (“spam”) to unknown people to advertise their medicines.

Do not shop at sites that do not provide a physical address and a phone number in the US. In case you need to contact them due to a problem. Check the page "Contact" (Contact Us ) on the website to find this information before ordering. Websites that only offer an email address or Internet contact information are most often located in a different country than the one indicated on the site. Some may even be hiding from regulators or government authorities.

Do not shop at sites that do not have a certified pharmacist available to answer questions.

Other tips for shopping more safely in online pharmacies

It is illegal to import drugs purchased from foreign websites. The risks are greater, and there is very little that can be done in case of fraud. Keep in mind that some websites do not tell the truth about the place from which they send the medications. Many websites that claim to be from Canada, for example, turn out to be from another country. The medications are not from Canada either.

Talk to your healthcare provider before using any medication for the first time.

For more information on how to order medication online, check the information that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has about it.

Prescription Drug Fraud Alert

There are also websites that commit fraud with people looking to save money on the purchase of their medicines so that they acquire other things, such as "natural cures", secret remedies and herbs. They are often established outside the United States, which makes it difficult for US authorities to track them despite the fact that they are violating the country's security laws and regulations.

Pay attention to sites that advertise a "new cure" for serious diseases or a quick and total cure for a wide range of diseases.

Be careful of sites that use flashy photos and make use of a vocabulary to impress in order to hide their lack of scientific support and detailed studies.

Avoid sites that argue that the government, as well as the medical and scientific community have collaborated to prevent people from knowing or using your product.

Stay away from sites that offer testimonials that report amazing results as your only form of evidence that your product is effective. These testimonies are usually impossible to verify, and even if they were real, this does not imply that the product was the cause.