Online Pharmacies

An integral part of any society, the pharmacy is our first line of defense when it comes to our health. Most of us pick up the basics at the pharmacy. This could be anything from toothpaste to aspirin, cold medicine, or eye-drops. Many supermarkets also sell the same things, so depending on where you live, pharmacies are now more in the business of filling prescriptions from doctors more than simply selling over-the-counter medicine.

Online pharmacies, like anything online, have boomed in popularity. The early years were eerily similar to mail-order medicines from the late 1800s. Packets would arrive via the mail, there was little regulation, and soon products of every type (illegal included) were being shipped and received. Way back in 1904, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy was established to control the spread of disreputable medicines. This worked well, but it never had the Internet contemplated as part of its regulatory plans.

Come the 1990s, the online digital marketplace was booming. Amazon.com had expanded from its bookstore beginnings to a massive commercial center for everything under the sun. Drugstore.com was launched in 1999, and while not the first official online pharmacy, it was the first regulated one. Before Drugstore.com there were a host of shady actors posing as reputable online pharmacies. Yet, much of what they were selling was illegal or non-regulated. The Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) was established by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Being "VIPPS approved" is now the gold-standard in the online pharmacy sphere, and Drugstore.com was one of the first to join on.

There are a host of online pharmacies operating today. It's hard to rank or judge a good one compared to a great one. There are signs of bad ones, though, and by adhering to said signs, you'll likely arrive at a reputable provider. For example, if you're given the green light to buy a prescription medicine without a prescription, that's a red flag. Second, regulated online pharmacies by law must have a US state-licensed pharmacist on-call to answer customer inquiries. This person must furnish his or her license number as well. Third, prices that are a third or less lower than a competitor are fishy. Competition exists in the online world, in the same manner, as it does with brick and mortar businesses. If a company can cut prices by over a third (compared to a competitor), that is too good to be true.

Lastly, companies that are located outside of the US, and/or ship worldwide, are in general, not regulated by US law. This is not to say they are not legitimate businesses. But the same regulatory environment that US online pharmacies need to adhere to does not apply to this group. Safe, online pharmacies will always require a prescription, possess a street address within the US, and have a licensed pharmacist on-call. The other thing you can do before purchasing is to check with the VIPPS website. They have a list of pharmacies with their seal of approval.

This is a segment that will continue to grow. Unlike other items you might need to try on or touch, medicine is an easy buy online. Just make sure to do it carefully.