Types Of Online Pharmacies

People usually buy drugs from online pharmacy without verifying its authenticity.

Though the FDA and the FTC are monitoring the online pharmacies, the consumer should also keep a complete track record of them. The consumers have to verify the validity of the online pharmacy.

There are two types of online pharmacy.

1. Pharmacies who only dispenses drugs
2. Pharmacies who prescribe and dispenses drugs

The online pharmacy which only dispenses drugs should be licensed to sell prescribed drugs by the country it sells and also from the country it wants to sale its drugs.

Once the legality of the online pharmacy is established, the consumer must produce a valid prescription. The doctors should either fax or mail the prescription to the online pharmacy.

By doing this you are giving evidence that a doctor patient relationship exist. The pharmacy makes all the verifications regarding the prescription before dispensing the drugs.

In the first type of online pharmacy the doctor and patient relationship is the main thing for the dispensing of drugs.

Hence, these types of pharmacies operate within the guidelines and safeguards laid down by the FDA and FTC and protects the patient from using unsafe and inappropriate drugs.

In the second type of online pharmacy which prescribes drugs are the major cause for concern. In this type of online pharmacy a consumer can obtain drugs by answering few questions.

These websites bypass the relationship between the doctor and the patient and purely depends on the self diagnosis by the patient.

It is here that the life of a person can be put in danger. Since the drugs are dispensed based on the information given by the consumer, it can be inaccurate or little information about the health of the patient, without the taking into consideration about the past medical history of the patient.

This is a cause of concern as it may be dangerous to the health of the patient.

And the worst thing is the drugs consumed by the patient may be in appropriate for the patient’s health condition or it may react with the other drugs taken by the patient and interact negatively causing great danger to the life of the patient.

FDA is always looking for these kinds of online pharmacies which dispense drugs without a prescription and without a questionnaire. It is always advised to the consumer not to purchase drug from these sites to ensure safety and health risk of the consumer.

The policies of FDA for the online pharmacies are primarily bases on the Internet Drug Sales Action Plan of 1999. The main focus of this plan in on the health fraud, and drugs sold without a valid prescription.

The FTC has also has the power to block prescriptions which are sold online using false claims.

Now the NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy) has established its own plan to streamline online pharmacies with a program called VIPPS program (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites).

The VIPPS program has given the consumers assurance that the online pharmacy is trustworthy.