Buying pharmaceutical drugs online is popular and there is a long row of different online pharmacies to chose among. Some of them are simply the online branch of a traditional pharmacy, while other are active only on the web. There is also something called Pharmacy Benefit Manager, an entity that administers corporate prescription drug plans in the United States. Each year, over 200 million people in the United States receive drug benefits administered by a Pharmacy Benefit Manager.
When selecting an online pharmacy, it’s a good idea to spend some time investigating the company before you buy any medicine or medical equipment online. There are unethical online pharmacies that sell outdated drugs or counterfeit medications, and that may not adhere to normal safety procedures when it comes to storing and handling drugs. One way of checking out an online pharmacy is to look at reviews posted by its customers. It is of course possible for an online pharmacy to post false reviews, but it will not be able to keep honest, critical customer reviews away from reputable third-party review sites.
In the United States, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has recognized two verification programs for online pharmacies. One is the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Program (VIPPS), the other is LegitScript.
VIPPS is operated by NABP and has been active since 1999. Only web sites that have been approved by VIPPS are allowed to display their Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ Seal, (VIPPS® Seal). To be approved an online pharmacy must, among other things, meet state and federal rules. More information to be found at the Vipps webpage.
LegitScript was founded in May 2007 by John Horton. Horton was a White House aide on drug policy issues from 2002 to 2007, focusing on prescription drug policy, including internet pharmacies. Before moving to Washington, Horton was a narcotics prosecutor in Oregon. LegitScript does not only approve legit online pharmacies, they also seek out rouge pharmacies online and tries to shut them down. In November 2008, LegitScript reported that it had managed to shut down 500 rouge online pharmacies by contacting their Internet Service Providers and domain registrars. As of September 2010, LegitScript had approved over 300 online pharmacies that adhered to LegitScript standards. More information can be found at www.legitscript.com.
Home delivery
Online pharmacies offer home delivery of their products through mail or parcel post, and this is one of the reasons why they are so popular. Parents with a busy schedule, elderly and disabled people, persons living in remote areas far away from a brick-and-mortar pharmacy – the list of medicine buyers who appreciate home delivery goes on an one. Also, many people cite privacy reasons for filling their prescription for birth control, hemorrhoid cream and erectile dysfunction drugs online rather than in the local pharmacy.
Standard home delivery is not suitable for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals since too high and/or too low temperatures in uncontrolled shipping conditions can damage them. For example, the temperature inside a mail box placed in summer sun can easily exceed 50 degrees Celsius. Some online pharmacies offer insulated shipping containers and door-to-door delivery by express mail or couriers.