Online pharmacies seem like good ideas in theory; not only is online shopping convenient because the items are delivered right to your doorstep, but the medications sold online tend to be much cheaper than what patients typically pay at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy. So what’s the problem with online pharmacies? Actually, there are quite a few problems:
- Very few online pharmacies are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meaning that there’s no guarantee that customers are actually getting the medication ordered online. This may just be a mistake in some cases, but in plenty of other cases, online sellers will substitute ingredients or sell drugs that haven’t been tested adequately in order to make money while offering super-low pricing.
- Speaking of ingredients, it’s very common for the medications sold by online pharmacies to contain the wrong amount of the active ingredients (in order to make the drug cheaper), or to contain none of the active ingredients at all — and there’s no way for consumers to test the drugs at home to ensure quality. Not getting a medication you need can be just as harmful as taking a completely different drug that you don’t need.
- Another problem with online pharmacies is related to shipping the medications. If you need your medication as soon as possible, there’s really no guarantee that it will be delivered when the company promises. Additionally, it’s difficult — if not impossible — to know for sure that no one has tampered with the package and the medication during the shipping process. Quite simply, it goes through too many hands and can be damaged too easily.
Ultimately, shopping at your local pharmacy is probably much safer than you even imagined. And with new POS systems and pharmacy software programs that help pharmacists track prescriptions, and retail pharmacy POS systems that are capable of handling great customer loyalty programs, you can be sure that you’re getting the exact prescription you need, at the lowest cost possible. Continue reading here. Research more here.
