Online Prescriptions Drugs

Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:40:53 +0200

Purchasing Drugs Online:It’s Convenient and Private, but Beware of 'Knave Sites'

Consumers are replacing a trip to the corner drugstore with a click on to the Internet, where they find hundreds of Web sites selling online prescriptions drugs and other health products.

Many of these are lawful enterprises that genuinely offer convenience, privacy, and the safeguards of traditional procedures for prescribing drugs. For the most part, consumers can use these services with the same confidence they have in their neighborhood pharmacist. In fact, while some are familiar large drugstore chains, many of these legitimate businesses are local pharmacy; set up to serve their customers electronically.

But consumers must be wary of others who are using the Internet as an outlet for products or practices that are already illegal in the offline world. For example, some sites require customers only to fill out a questionnaire before ordering prescription drugs, by passing any face-to-face interaction with a health professional.

If you buy medical products online, be aware of the following dangers:

•Purchasing a medication from an illegal Website puts you at risk. You may receive a contaminated or counterfeit product, the wrong product, an incorrect dose, or no product at all.

•Taking an unsafe or inappropriate medication puts you at risk for dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences.

•Getting an online prescriptions drug by filling out a questionnaire without seeing a doctor poses serious health risks. A questionnaire does not provide sufficient information for a health-care professional to determine if that drug is for you or safe to use, if another treatment is more appropriate, or if you have an underlying medical condition where using that drug may be harmful.

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