The cost of medications are astounding. If you are paying out of pocket or have a newly minted drug on your prescribed list you know the personal cost.
If you are thinking about buying online medications, you will want to look at the FDA recommendations below. Getting the medications you pay for is the number one priority. Unfortunately there are scammers out there putting your health and your safety on the line.
The FDA has outlined helpful ways to keep you out of harms way. Buying online medications can be tricky business, but for many it may be the only affordable option.
Signs of a trustworthy website
- “It’s located in the United States.
- It’s licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the website is operating. A list of these boards is available at the website of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
- It has a licensed pharmacist available to answer your questions.
- It requires a prescription for prescription medicines from your doctor or another health care professional who is licensed to prescribe medicines.
- It provides contact information and allows you to talk to a person if you have problems or questions.”
“Another way to check on a website is to look for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s (NABP) Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ Seal, also known as the VIPPS® Seal.”
“This seal means that the Internet pharmacy is safe to use because it has met state licensure requirements, as well as other NABP criteria. Visit the VIPPS website to find legitimate pharmacies that carry the VIPPS® seal.”
Signs of an unsafe website
- “It sends you drugs with unknown quality or origin.
- It gives you the wrong drug or another dangerous product for your illness.
- It doesn’t provide a way to contact the website by phone.
- It offers prices that are dramatically lower than the competition.
- It may offer to sell prescription drugs without a prescription—this is against the law!
- It may not protect your personal information.”
Know Your Medicines
“Before you get any new medicine for the first time, talk to a health care professional such as your doctor or pharmacist about any special steps you need to take to fill your prescription.”
Any time you get a prescription refilled
- “check the physical appearance of the medicine (color, texture, shape, and packaging)
- check to see if it smells and tastes the same when you use it
- alert your pharmacist or whoever is providing treatment to anything that is different”
Be aware that some drugs sold online
- “are too old, too strong, or too weak
- aren’t FDA-approved
- aren’t made using safe standards
- aren’t safe to use with other medicines or products
- aren’t labeled, stored, or shipped correctly
- may be counterfeit”
Counterfeit Drugs
“Counterfeit drugs are fake or copycat products that can be difficult to identify.
The deliberate and fraudulent practice of counterfeiting can apply to both brand name and generic products, where the identity of the source is often mislabeled in a way that suggests it is the authentic approved product.”
Counterfeit drugs may
- “be contaminated
- not help the condition or disease the medicine is intended to treat
- lead to dangerous side effects
- contain the wrong active ingredient
- be made with the wrong amounts of ingredients
- contain no active ingredients at all or contain too much of an active ingredient
- be packaged in phony packaging that looks legitimate”
~ Per fda.gov