Shopping at an Online Pharmacy? Here’s How to Get Your Meds (Safely!)

Maybe you’re stuck at home, ordering medication for someone who is, or socially distancing yourself, but you still need prescriptions filled.

Did you know you could order prescriptions online?

Did you also know you could have them delivered right to your door?

Read on to learn how a pharmacy close to you can meet your prescription needs, on time and at a good price.

Things to Consider In Your Search for a “Pharmacy Near Me”

There are some risks to purchasing your prescriptions online. In the past, if you’ve been wary about doing so because you’ve heard of scams or pricy costs, your caution was valid.

Have no fear! There are a few ways to find out if the pharmacy tech filling your online ordered prescriptions is real or not.

How to Spot a Fake

When looking for a safe online pharmacy, you will want to think about the potential indicators of fake pharmacies. These include:

• Counterfeit or unapproved medicines
• Steeply reduced costs or generally very cheap drugs
• Doctor’s prescriptions are not required for purchasing prescriptions
• Personal and financial information is unprotected
• Not licensed by the United States

Now, if an online pharmacy is okayed by the United States, that does not mean they are necessarily in this region. Some companies, such as 90 Day Meds, are in Canada but clearly show their privacy and security policies. They also have a badge showing where they stand with the Pharmacy Checker Verification Program.

There are other indicators that an online pharmacy is safe. These:

• Require a doctor’s prescription
• Provide a physical location and telephone number
• Display their licensure for pharmaceutical work
• Provide live support with a pharmacist

How to Verify Your Online Pharmacy

For those online pharmacies okayed by the United States, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is a great resource to think about. Their site is full of helpful information but only helps with nation-specific regulations.

If you’re in the United States, the FDA might help you out, but not if you’re looking to order from okayed organizations, such as 90 Day Meds, from countries like Canada, where certain medicines might be cheaper to order.

Canada has its own way to make sure pharmacies are okay, called CIPA or the Canadian International Pharmacy Association. CIPA is international because of a lot of people who order their prescriptions at a better price in Canada. CIPA has its own helpful list of verified pharmacies, much like the FDA.

Like CIPA and the FDA, Pharmacy Checker has its own list and qualifications for verification. These include an okayed prescription, only going through pharmacies okayed by CIPA or the FDA, making sure the privacy of medical and financial information is safe, and clear, accurate information on a company’s location and contact information.

How to Get Your Meds Safely

After having checked your preferred online pharmacy, you still have to order your medicine! How do you do so simply and safely?

Now you’re sure the online pharmacy you’ve chosen is safe, there are a few other things to think about with your medicine. Unsafe medications are marked by a few things.

• The active ingredients from fake pharmacies may be in amounts too high or low to be safe or effective.
• Unsafe medicine may not even have the necessary active ingredients at all.
• When fake pharmacies fill fake prescriptions, the might even have ingredients that might hurt you.

Even if you have found a real pharmacy, it is still important to stay on top of the medicine you take. Sometimes, fake medicines are passed on to qualified individuals.

You can stay up to date on current counterfeit medicines to receiving any, even on accidents. The FDA has a webpage dedicated to counterfeit medicine, which gives good information on what to do when you get the wrong medicine sent to you.

Your Medical & Financial Privacy

When you’re sure the medicine you’ve bought isn’t fake, and you’ve checked the pharmacy, you also have to remember to keep your medical and financial information safe.

There should be clear information on any real online pharmacy’s website about your rights to the security and privacy of your medical and financial information.

Fake sites will often sell your information for money to outside companies trying to target your wallet or steal your identity. They may do this through spam emails by lying to you about crazy cheap prices on fake medicine.

Real online pharmacies should say clearly what they plan to do with any data they get from you, even if you only use them one time. These are given in any stated purposes for collection, use, and disclosure, which may be policy updates, satisfaction surveys, delivery assistance, and other necessary communication.

When they have to give away any private information, online pharmacies will say why and who they give it away to. This usually means accountants and lawyers, as well as any accountability on the retailer’s part for a breach in security.

Their security policies should also give you information related to marketing, including the sale, lease or reorganization of a business and its effects on your privacy.

Any questions you might have about where your information goes or who can look at it should be answered by someone chosen by a retailer. Per compliance with security and privacy policies, this officer is supposed to give any available information about access requests to your information, addressing any problems about privacy practices, and policy changes that might affect you as a customer.

Ordering Your Prescription

When ordering a prescription online, keep in mind the needed time for filling said order and shipping it to your address. International orders might do something to the time of delivery, too, so don’t put off ordering your medicine!

90 Day Meds has a clear and simple way to order your medicine online, which guides you step by step through the process. Be sure to check out their site the next time you need a prescription filled!

They offer good ways of safely sending your prescription and medical and financial information. From fax to email to a simple online form, their system is tailored to best serve your online pharmacy needs.