Local vs. Online Pharmaceuticals

The internet is always a convenient, cheaper alternative to buying consumer products. In recent years, there has been a massive ecommerce boom trumpeting hundreds of website alternatives for any product imaginable that can sell it better than your average convenience store. The downside? With more availability also comes more danger, fraudulence and insecurity.  Especially in relation to your own health, there are some risks we should be willing and unwilling to take. So today, let’s examine online pharmaceuticals. It’s pros and cons in relations to local pharmacies, and what you need to know to get quality medications at the best prices. Online pharmaceuticals are easy and convenient. For those of us living in remote places, or who would rather just have our medication delivered to our door instead of running to the pharmacy, online pharmaceuticals are the best guarantee you’ll get your medication right where you want it….on time. Pharmacies both on and offline often order their products from the same supplier/source. Both, also only place the order upon you/your doctor’s request.  Therefore, it is often faster to directly obtain a prescription from your doctor and send it to an online pharmaceutical company that will immediately place your order, than wait for your doctor to fax the prescription to a local pharmaceutical company that must also take time out to process it individually as well. Online pharmaceuticals are also tools for consumer advocacy by offering 1. larger varieties of medications 2. listing a variety of medication options (with descriptions)  for certain ailments that you can browse and recommend to your doctor yourself. This enables you to save money, and guarantees that you receive the best options based on your own judgment for your own situation. No more prescribed medication that may not be covered by your insurance or has cheaper alternatives you’re not aware of. Despite all these pros however, if not interacted acted with cautiously, with knowledge of the industry, online pharmaceuticals can be quite risky. For example, there are over 400 online pharmaceutical business today. However not all of these businesses are legitimate operations. Many deliver drugs without valid prescriptions, deliver drugs of questionable quality and fail to educate patients of the possible negative side affects/reactions to certain drugs. So how to go about buying medication online the right way? Here are some things to look out for as the savvy consumer:

1. For online pharmaceutical websites in the US, make sure they are VIPPS certified. This is a program developed by the US National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to identify pharmacies that comply with the licensing and inspection requirements of both the state they operate in and whichever state they dispense to. If they are certified, you can easily view the hyperlink seal on their website.
2. Identify illegal websites by looking for sites that don’t offer counseling services by healthcare professionals, sell only prescription drugs such as antibiotics, toxic chemotherapy regimes and anti acne drugs that can cause birth defects and have misleading advertising regarding self care. The reason for these warning signs being that many illegal websites sell counterfeit or substandard new medication. As a good general rule, if the website cannot provide an accurate description of a product with proven treatment effects and methods, they should not be counted on.
3. Make sure the website offers patient confidentiality, meaning no disclosure of private medical information that can be sold to third parties. Legitimate sites will also often for the patient’s medical background in order to ensure there are no potential harmful drug interactions.
4. Look for delivery guarantees. Certain medications can change when damaged or not kept at appropriate temperatures/humidity. Make sure there are refunds and systems in place to guarantee shipping quality.

An online pharmaceutical company can be a great help. On average, prices in online pharmacies are 10% lower. On IsraelPharm.com they are up to 70% lower. For example, at IsraelPharm.com Lyrica (medication to treat neurological pain) is only $152 compared to $327 at Kroger and $329 at CVS. 60 patches of Flector Diclofenac (an anti inflammatory) is $550 at Kroger, $553 at CVS and only $276 at IsraelPharm.com. You be the judge, which is the better bargain? Especially for those living in the US where medication is not subsidized and prices are not controlled by the government, as seen above, they can often be unaffordable. Therefore importing from trusted sources such as IsraelPharm.com is a very healthy, safe financial alternative.  Do not let anything get in the way of what you need. Consider online pharmaceuticals as an alternative for your medical needs and practice our safe browsing methods listed above to get the best medication at the best prices!