Online pharmacies , Internet pharmacies , or mail order pharmacies are pharmacies that operate over the internet and ship orders to customers by mail or shipping companies.
Online pharmacies may include:
- Pharmaceutical benefit manager - The big administrator of the company's prescription drug plan
- Official Internet Pharmacy in the same country as the person who booked.
- Official Internet Pharmacy in a country different from what people ordered. These pharmacies are usually licensed by their country of origin and follow the rules, not international regulations.
- Internet pharmacies are illegal or unethical. Web pages for illegal pharmacies may contain lies about the country of origin, procedure, or certification. "Pharmacy" may send expiration (ending shelf life) or fake drugs and may not follow normal procedural safeguards.
Video Online pharmacy
Home delivery
Conventional stationary pharmacies usually have a drug-controlled distribution system from the manufacturer. Validation and good distribution practices are followed. Home delivery of medicines can be the desired comfort but sometimes there can be problems with uncontrolled distribution.
Drug delivery by mail and parcel post is sometimes a concern for temperature sensitive medicines. Uncontrolled delivery conditions may include high and low temperatures beyond the conditions of registered storage for the drug. For example, the US FDA found that the temperatures in the mailbox in the sun can reach 136Ã, Â ° F (58Ã, Â ° C) while the air temperature is about 101Ã, Â ° F (38Ã, Â ° C).
Fast mail and courier deliveries reduce transit times and often involve delivery to the door, not the mailbox. The use of isolated shipping containers also helps control the temperature of the drug, reducing the risks to drug safety and efficacy.
Maps Online pharmacy
Risk and concern
- Illegal or unethical pharmacies sometimes send outdated, substituted, or fake drugs
- Sometimes online pharmacies may not be located in the claimed country. For example, one drug delivery study claiming to be from Canada reveals much that actually originates from several different countries and is often a counterfeit drug
- Minors or children may order substances that are supervised without adult supervision.
- Other issues include possible lack of confidentiality, improper packaging, inability to check drug interactions, and some other issues.
Discussions
Legitimate postal pharmacy is somewhat similar to a community pharmacy; one major difference is the method requested and accepted by drugs. Some customers find this easier than traveling to a community drug store, just like ordering things online rather than going to a store.
While many internet pharmacies sell prescription drugs only by prescription, some do not require prescriptions pre-written. In some countries, this is because prescriptions are not required. Some customers order medicines from these pharmacies to avoid the cost and inconvenience of visiting doctors or to get drugs that their doctors are not willing to prescribe. People living in the United States and other countries where prescription drugs are so expensive can turn to online pharmacies to save money. Many reputable websites are hiring their own home physicians to review drug requests and write appropriate prescriptions. Some websites offer non-prescription drugs or doctor reviews. This practice has been criticized as potentially dangerous, especially by those who feel that only a reliable doctor assesses contraindications, risk/benefit ratios, and drug fitness for a particular individual. Pharmacies that offer drugs without the need for prescription and doctor's checks or supervision are sometimes cheated and can supply counterfeit drugs - and are ineffective and possibly harmful -.
International Consumer
International consumers sometimes buy drugs online from online pharmacies in their own countries, or those located in other countries. Some pharmacies need a prescription, while others do not. Of those who do not need a prescription, some ask customers to fill out a health questionnaire with their order. Many of the drugs available in legitimate online pharmacies are produced by renowned manufacturers such as Pfizer, Wyeth, Roche, and generic drug manufacturers Cipla and Ranbaxy from India and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel. However, it remains difficult for patients to determine whether the online pharmacy is legitimate. Drugs obtained from counterfeit online pharmacies have no guarantee of identity, history, and sources. A study in three cities in the Netherlands found that more than 60% of the sildenafil consumed was obtained from illegal sources.
AS. consumer
The attractiveness of online pharmacies is the price of the drug. Buyers can sometimes earn 50 to 80 percent or more savings on US pricing in foreign pharmacies. The Washington Post reports that "... millions of Americans have turned to Mexico and other countries for cheap drugs... US customs estimates that 10 million US citizens carry drugs on the land border every year. million drug packages arrive annually through international letters from Thailand, India, South Africa, and other points.There are more packages coming from online pharmacies in Canada. "According to a Wall Street Journal/Harris Online poll of 2006, 80 percent of Americans love importing drugs from Canada and other countries. Independent factors associated with imports by US residents are age greater than 45 years, southern or western dwellings, Hispanic ethnicity, higher education, poor or near-poor status of poverty, lack of US citizenship, travel to developing countries, lack of health insurance, high family medical costs, difficulty finding health care providers, reported good or poor health status, filling prescriptions on the Internet, and using online chat groups to learn about health. President Obama's budget supports plans to allow people to buy cheaper drugs from other countries. A 2016 study suggests that providing health insurance coverage can significantly reduce the import of personal prescription drugs and the risk of exposure to counterfeit, forged, and substandard drugs. Further, health insurance coverage is likely to be very effective in reducing imports among Hispanics; born in Latin America, Russia, or Europe; and travel to developing countries. A report in the journal Clinical Therapeutics found that US consumers are at risk of getting counterfeit drugs because of the rising sales of internet drugs, with the sale of counterfeit drugs worldwide, offline and online, is projected to reach $ 75 billion by 2010.
An independent study published by the National Economic Research Bureau shows that online, US and foreign pharmacies, verified by certain credential entities, sell genuine drugs and require recipes. In the study, all prescribed prescription drug orders proved authentic when ordered from online, international and US pharmacies only, approved by PharmacyChecker.com, as well as US online pharmacies approved by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) Internet Pharmacy Practices Program Verified (VIPPS) or LegitScript, and Canadian-based online pharmacies approved by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association. Nine percent of tested products ordered from non-credential online pharmacies are fake.
There are two verification programs for online pharmacies that are recognized by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). One is VIPPS, operated by NABP and created in 1999. The Food and Drug Administration refers to Internet users interested in using online pharmacy for VIPPS programs. The other is LegitScript, which in September 2010 approved more than 340 Internet pharmacies as legitimate and identified more than 47,000 "naughty" Internet pharmacies. Canadian online pharmacies and all non-US that sell prescription drugs to Americans, regardless of credentials, are not eligible for approval in VIPPS and LegitScript programs.
Online pharmacies abroad and U.S. law
The legality and risk of purchasing drugs online depends on the type and quantity of certain drugs purchased.
The FDA believes that many who sell illegal pharmaceutical products without a prescription are controlled by an organized criminal network. In 2014, the US FDA, in partnership with other federal and international agencies and technology companies such as Google, is taking action against a website, some based in India, which sells drugs to US consumers. Pharmacies Mail Order is governed by US federal law and hundreds of them operate legally in the US. ICANN and US regulatory authorities are also involved in a heated debate about blocking and seizure of illegal online pharmacies websites that ICANN is not so keen on doing this.
Enforcement
It is illegal to purchase substances that are controlled from pharmacies abroad. A person who buys substances that are controlled from the pharmacy may violate some federal laws that carry stiff punishment.
- Any package containing prescription drugs may be confiscated by US Customs and Border Protection. Packages may be held and ultimately returned to the sender if the recipient does not respond and provides evidence that they are allowed to receive this drug (eg a valid prescription). In practice, the number of packages containing prescription drugs sent to the United States every day far outweighed CBP's ability to examine them. In the past, packages often passed through customs even though they were not shipped from Canada or did not meet the requirements of section 844 of 21 USC. To date, about 5 percent of prescription drug packages sent from Canada are being confiscated.
- DEA and FDA generally do not target consumers unless the drugs are imported in large quantities (suggesting intent to distribute) or represent perceived harm to public health (opiates, amphetamines).
- Rarely, drug import laws are enacted at the local level. For example, in June 2005 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a number of online pharmacy customers were arrested by local law enforcement officers and accused of possessing substances that were controlled without a prescription.
- The act of importing substances controlled from abroad violates 21 USC, Section 952 (up to 5 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine for the import of Narcotic Drugs Schedule III, IV or V, perhaps more for narcotics and Drug Schedule I and II). The simple ownership action of a legally controlled substance without a prescription violates 21 USC, Section 844 (up to 1 year in prison and a $ 1,000 fine). The FDA does not recognize online recipes; for a prescribed prescription there should be a face-to-face relationship between the patient and the health care professional prescribing the drug. What exactly is a "face-to-face" relationship is considered by many online pharmacies to be a subjective definition that will allow them to operate as an adjunct to their own patient physician if the patient submits a medical record documenting the requested condition of the drug deemed appropriate for the treatment. Sections 956 and 1301 provide exceptions for travelers carrying small amounts of substances controlled in or out of the country directly, but not by mail.
- The import of unapproved prescription drugs (not necessarily controlled substances) violates 21 USC, Section 301 (aa), even for personal use. The Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act allows the import of drug products for new unapproved drugs that do not have an approved version of America. However, this allowance does not allow the import of foreign versions of drugs approved by the US.
- The law further stipulates that enforcement should be focused on cases where the import by an individual poses a threat to public health, and discretion should be made to permit the individual to carry out the import in the event that the prescribed medication or device does not appear to be presents an unreasonable risk to the individual.
- It is also illegal to import unapproved drugs (21 USC sections 331 (d) and 355 (a)); however, FDA policy indicates that, under certain circumstances, patients may be allowed to keep these medicines.
- Each US state may apply its own laws governing the importation, possession, and trade of prescription drugs and/or controlled substances.
- For several years, the states of Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin have run official state programs to help residents order low-cost drugs from abroad to save money.
Email fraud
All online pharmacies sell over the internet but have to ship products usually by post. The sale of many legally prescribed class of drugs (also called Rx-only drugs or legendary drugs) is illegal and companies that post them may be prosecuted for mail fraud (Postal Check Services) as well as investigations and Federal charges by the Investigation Office Criminal, Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security, IRS, Homeland Security, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Justice, INTERPOL, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and it is common practice for many agencies to co- investigating alleged crimes.
Bulgarian customers
All Bulgarian online pharmacies must be registered with Bulgarian drug agents (BDA). BDA controls trade with drugs and makes analysis when it doubts the quality and safety of drugs. The special BDA logo and certificate for pharmacy registration prove the accreditation and validity of the store. When clicking the logo, the consumer will be taken to the official page of Bulgarian drug agency. The web page should provide information about the name of the pharmacy, address, registration number and its manager.
Canadian online pharmacies selling to US customers
Buying prescription drugs from the most respected internet pharmacies in Canada often results in recipes filled from drugs sourced not from Canada but from Caribbean countries or from eastern Europe. Canadian online pharmacies that sell drugs offer Canadian prices but buy at a cheaper price than third parties abroad. This has caused problems with recipes filled with counterfeit drugs, which sometimes have no activity whatsoever. Some pharmacists have left the business because of the ethical issues involved, and some less-established Internet sites may consciously sell counterfeit drugs. In 2014, Canada's largest online drug retailer is banned by Health Canada from wholesale drug sales. Of the three major Canadian online pharmaceutical entrepreneurs who are sold to the United States, one in prison, one person out of the industry completely, and the third is under investigation for criminal misconduct.
Indian Consumer
Online pharmacies in India have increased significantly due to Ecommerce growth in India and a bit of industrial regulation.
There is no "regulatory control over drug advertising on television or the internet".
Technology can help in fulfilling the Indian health goals. The Indian government plans to spend Rs 500 crore on a computer literacy project for 50 lakh people for 3 years. This will help Indians access government services in e-education, e-health and e-governance. Healthcare providers in India are also expected to spend $ 1.1 billion on IT products and services by 2014.
Legal status in India
There is no special law to handle online pharmacies in India but some laws regulate online pharmacies indirectly. The Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drug and Cosmetics Regulations, 1945, have guidelines on drug sales Schedule H and Schedule X. These can be sold only by prescription and there are special rules, including for labeling and barcodes.
It appears that electronic recipes should be valid especially in light of the Pharmacy 2015 Practice Rules announced by the Indian Pharmaceutical Council in January 2015. In this rule, "Recipes" defined by Rule 2 (j) [3] 'means written or electronic instructions from Registered Medical Practitioners....... 'Under existing rules, it seems that a copy of the recipe will be considered a valid recipe. However, whether such electronic prescriptions can be used to buy drugs from online pharmacies has been questioned.
The Maharashtra (FDA) Food and Drug Administration raided 27 online pharmacies located in Mumbai, Thane and Pune and seized medicines worth Rs. 2 Crore.
Pakistani consumers
by 2015, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Laws are enacted for registration of homeopathic, herbal, unani, allopathic, and nutraceutical products. It also implies that only registered retail pharmacies can sell these items, along with OTC and Prescription drugs, to the public.
The sale of all drugs in Pakistan is subject to the Drug Act of 1976.
UK Consumer
In the UK more than 2 million people buy drugs on a regular basis via the Internet from online pharmacies; some legitimate but others have "dangerous practices" that can harm children. In 2008, RPSGB introduced a green cross logo to help identify accredited online pharmacies (starting in 2010 internet pharmacy logo schemes run by GPhC).
European registered pharmacists have a reciprocal agreement that allows them to practice in the UK by applying to the General Pharmaceutical Council.
The first internet pharmacy in the UK was Pharmacy2U, which began operations in 1999. Britain was the front line leader in internet pharmacies since the NHS pharmaceutical regulatory changes in 2005 that made it legal for pharmacies to fill NHS prescriptions over the internet. Drugs supplied in this way tend to be medicines that doctors refuse to prescribe for patients, or will charge a personal prescription fee, as all patients treated under the National Health Service pay a flat price or not at all for prescribed medications (except for drugs classified as lifestyle drugs, such as anti-malaria for travel), and medical equipment. Since July 2015, the Drug and Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has obliged online drug salespeople to adopt the EU wide logo and maintain entries in the MHRA medicines registry.
In the UK, online pharmacies are often associated with online clinicians. Doctors conduct online consultations and issue prescriptions. Companies that employ physicians must be registered with the Quality of Care Commission. The online clinic prescribes only a limited number of drugs and does not replace ordinary doctors who work from surgery. There are various ways doctors conduct online consultations; sometimes almost entirely done with a questionnaire. Customers usually pay a fee that includes the price of the consultation, prescription and the price of the drug.
Starting April 2016, there are 46 online pharmacies registered in the UK. In April 2017, the Maintenance Quality Commission suspended the registration of Doctor Matt Ltd. - trades as theonlinesurgery.co.uk due to inadequate medical assessments at the request of a prescription. Six have been warned after the examination.
See also
- The Silk Road (anonymous market), an online marketplace thought to facilitate anonymous drug sales
- Internet fraud
- .pharmacy (generic top-level domain)
- Fake drugs online
References
External links
- FDA Enforcement Policy Regarding Private Income of Drugs (US approved drugs) - US Customs and Border Protection
- Most Counterfeit Pharmacies, Warn the FDA, October 2, 2012, WebMD Health News
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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