Online pharmacies, while convenient, are also added avenues for unscrupulous minds to do their work. By exploiting the need of people for quality and convenient health care, they put up fraudulent online pharmacies that allow customers to purchase medications without prescriptions. While it is difficult to pinpoint which are fraudulent, online pharmacies with no prescription needed policies should be paid extra care. Below are some facts regarding online pharmacies and prescription requirements as ordered by FDA regulations and U.S. law:
There are three categories for online pharmacies when it comes to prescription requirements.
Online pharmacies are divided and classified into three:
* Traditional
Demand for prescription based on personal consultation with a medical practitioner
* Remote consultation
Accept prescriptions based on non-personal consultation by means of online, fax, or mail communications with a general practitioner
* None
Dispense prescription medication without requiring customers to furnish them with a valid Rx
Online pharmacies with traditional prescription requirements are usually the most legitimate.
Aside from being the most legal, this type of online pharmacy also offers the most number of advantages:
* More secure and reliable
Most online pharmacies that require traditional prescription are the major pharmaceutical chains across the country, large major mail-order centers, and neighborhood pharmacies in North America. Online pharmacies of these established names in pharmacy take after their land-based counterparts when it comes to stringent procedures.
* Lower prices
Online pharmacies with traditional prescription requirements usually offer medicines at a lower price compared to pharmaceutical firms with remote consultation or no prescription requirements. Lower prices are often attributed to the fact that these pharmacies do not have additional charges for remote consultation or the perceived “convenience” given by the lack of prescription requirement.
* Complete medication stock
Since most of these online pharmacies are major chains, they carry the most popular prescriptiom medications and even those that are not well-known. People have most chance of finding their prescription medications at these sites.
Remote consultation is often best for non-addictive medication.
Remote consultation pharmacies are also known as online consulting pharmacies or prescribing pharmacies since they often work with doctors who review a patient's self-reported medical history before prescribing a medication. While convenient, remote consultation pharmacies also safeguard people's health by dispensing only prescription medications that are non-addictive and do not require a physician's supervision. If a remote consultation pharmacy dispenses addictive drugs, it would be wise to seek a second opinion.
Dispensing prescription medication with prescription is illegal in the United States.
While online pharmacies are allowed to sell traditionally over-the-counter drugs without prescription, dispensing prescription drugs without a valid Rx is illegal. If an online pharmacy sells prescription medication without requiring a prescription, where it is based must be verified since it may be allowed in the country of its operation. Strict verification measures must be done to ensure that the site is legal and is not out to steal user information.