While online pharmacies have been a monumental lifesaver for the older people, ill people and people with disabilities, not all online pharmacies are safe to buy medicines from. You cannot just simply go online and find the first pharmacy you come across. As it involves life-altering medication, you need to know more about buying from a pharmacy online.
Top 10 Things You Need to Know Before Buying from a Pharmacy Online
It’s essential to educate yourself about how specific facts about online pharmacies before you start using one. In this blog, we will see the questions you need to consider when buying from an online pharmacy.
1. How does online pharmacy work?
If you are going to buy from one, then you need to know what goes behind. Online pharmacies are just like normal pharmacies where you go and buy medicines but with delivery options. They can offer the medication at lower costs than your regular pharmacy as their range of customers are wider than a simple store pharmacy.
They stock large quantities of drugs from different sellers at a central location. As and when the orders come in, they will dispatch the medicines to the particular addresses after verifying the details.
2. So then what’s the harm in using an online pharmacy?
While it looks pretty simple, just like ordering a dress from an online store, not everyone can run an online pharmacy. One needs to get approval from the government to run an online pharmacy and fulfil all the legalities involved.
If you buy from a pharmacy online that isn’t certified by the government, then you are totally liable for any damages caused by them. As a customer, it is your responsibility to make sure that the pharmacy you are buying from is authorized to function.
3. How can you know that an online pharmacy is safe to buy from?
In the US, all online pharmacies should get FDA approval and in the UK, you need to get authorized by NHS (National Health Service) England.
In the UK, the online pharmacies should go through the primary legalities same as an offline pharmacy. They should be registered to get included in the NHS list, get authorized for the NHS dispensing contract and get the GPhC license. There are no shortcuts in this procedure and only authorized pharmacies that have fulfiled these criteria can run a pharmacy online in the UK. This will ensure that the drugs you buy from the registered pharmacies are safe.
4. How can you check if an online pharmacy you are purchasing from is certified?
Most online pharmacies that are registered with the government will have all that information on their website open for everyone to see. In case you can’t find such information, please make sure to reach out to the pharmacy and get the details. With the registration number, you can go to the official website and check if that particular website is registered.
In the UK, you can use the official website of the General Pharmaceutical Council to check for the registrations. Just enter the registration number of the online pharmacy and you will get the status of the registration along with the websites on which the company is certified to sell.
5. What are some other quick signs to verify an online pharmacy?
If you are visiting the website of an online pharmacy, then with a quick few checks, you can check for its authenticity.
Start with seeing the exact address of the online pharmacy. Yes, online pharmacies may not need an address, but one should give a complete address for registering with the government. Therefore, a proper address mentioned is a good sign that the available pharmacy online is legal. Also, make sure to check if the physical address is not fake.
6. What are your legal limits in purchasing drugs?
Now that we are clear on the legalities of certified online pharmacies, you should now know about your legalities of purchasing the drugs. You can buy any medications that are certified by the government through online pharmacies.
In case if you find any drugs that aren’t certified or shouldn’t be made available in the country. Then it’s the alarming sign that the online pharmacy doesn’t always follow the rules.
7. What kind of purchases are considered illegal?
There are certain drugs that you cannot purchase without prescriptions from licensed doctors. If you are buying such medications through online pharmacies without prescriptions, then it is an illegal transaction and you could face severe legal actions for it.
Therefore, it is best to make sure that you have the prescriptions attached for any high dose of drugs you buy from a pharmacy online.
8. What about purchasing medications from online pharmacies in other countries?
Well, you can see a lot of benefits from purchasing drugs from online pharmacies of other countries, but it’s not advisable. The online pharmacies that sell drugs internationally from other countries will still have to abide by the local law of the country they are selling from.
However, not all countries have stringent regulations for e-commerce or for that matter, selling drugs online. Therefore, you may never know the quality of the drugs that come in and this is a huge risk to take just to save some money from buying drugs.
9. How do you know if the online consultations from online pharmacies are from a certified pharmacist?
Many online pharmacies now offer online consultations and delivery of drugs with prescriptions to your address. While it can seem a simple option to get everything done from your home, how can you know that the pharmacist who prescribed you the drugs is certified to do so in the first place?
Similar to the checks for the registered online pharmacies, you can get the registration number of the pharmacist and check for their registration here.
10. How can you find the best pharmacy online?
Well, there are several ways to find the best pharmacies online as a simple Google search will yield you hundreds of results. Sometimes, it is best to get recommendations from friends and relatives who are already using a pharmacy online to buy drugs. Make sure to check for their registrations before you start buying from them.
Also, it’s advisable to stick on to one pharmacy online once you have become accustomed to it. It will avoid any issues of registration doubts and other legal confusions.
If you are looking for a good pharmacy online to buy drugs from, you can have a look at Life Pharmacy. We are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and our registration number is 1089552. We are authorized to sell drugs all over the UK and therefore, you can buy drugs at affordable rates from Life Pharmacy now.