Safely Buying Prescription Drugs Online: The Comprehensive Guide by The Canadian Pharmacy - HTML preview

Introduction to Ordering

Prescription Medication from

Online Pharmacies

In the current economy, people are looking for any way they can to save money on life’s necessities.

Families are cutting extracurricular activities and buying unbranded at the grocery store, but one product that continues to pose a problem for people on a budget is prescription medication.

For people without prescription drug coverage, those in the so-called “doughnut hole” of Medicare coverage One product that continues to pose

(in which coverage is temporarily suspended until the a problem for people on a budget is

recipient has paid a certain portion of their drug costs out of pocket), and those who require medications that prescription medication.

aren’t covered by their current plan, accessing these medications may prove challenging and lead to difficult budget decisions.

The fact is, when it comes down to either paying the electric bill or purchasing prescription medications, many people choose to cut costs on their medications. This leads to problems with medication compliance and can cause additional unintentional and even dangerous consequences.

For example, using less of a medication prescribed to regulate your heart rate may lead to rapid heartbeat or palpitations. Skipping doses of a medication designed to keep a diabetic’s blood sugar in check may cause uncontrollable rises in blood sugar and the associated symptoms. “Saving” antibiotics instead of finishing the course can lead to drug-resistant bacteria and future dangerous infections. In the long run, your additional visits to the doctor’s office and the emergency room as a result of an attempt to save money could cost you much more that you ever hoped to save.

Why Do Prescription Drugs Cost So Much?

It’s difficult to save money on medications at U.S. brick-and-mortar and online pharmacies. The pharmacies not only have to pay all their staff and the overhead costs of the location, they also have to pay the high wholesale costs to American drug manufacturers and distributors. Wholesale prices on prescription medications in the U.S. continue to climb, and regulations that exist in other countries to keep drug prices low don’t exist in the U.S. The drug industry has a powerful lobby, and an overall general resistance to price control allows drug prices to rise with no end in sight. When the U.S. Congress passed an act to reform Medicare in 2004, a section was dedicated to prohibiting the government from stepping in and negotiating lower drug prices.

These higher prices get passed on to you — the consumer — simply so the pharmacies can stay in business Insurance companies are also common culprits when it comes to higher drug prices at American pharmacies. The insurance plans set a predetermined price that they will pay for each medication regardless of the actual cost of the medication. This price is often less than what a cash-paying customer pays, and, sometimes, the pharmacy actually loses money when filling prescriptions for customers with insurance coverage. They must make up for this by increasing the retail price of the medications — a practice that hits cash-paying customers the hardest.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

4

Why do pharmacies go along with this? They must accept the terms of the insurance company in order to do business with them, and if a pharmacy loses a contract with an insurance company, they run the risk of losing their clientele and money. Unfortunately, the only parties that really benefit from this scenario are the drug manufacturers and the insurance companies.

Saving Money at Your Local Pharmacy

It is possible to save money when doing business with your local pharmacies, but you may have to do some legwork, and your savings may not be as substantial as you would like. Some of the available options include:

• Calling around to different pharmacies to compare prices.

• Doing business with pharmacies that price match against their competitors.

• Choosing generic medications whenever possible.

• Finding pharmacies that offer certain generic medications in three-month supplies for a low price.

• Contacting your drug manufacturer to see if you are eligible for coupons and discounts.

• Filling your prescriptions at pharmacies associated with club stores such as Costco or Sam’s Club. These pharmacies typically offer a lower retail price than grocery store or chain pharmacies.

What if you’ve already tried these methods and your prescription bill is still too high? It might be time to consider online pharmacies.

The Risks and Benefits of Online Pharmacies

Online pharmacies, particularly international online pharmacies, offer opportunities for substantial savings on prescription medications. Why is this?

For one thing, online pharmacies often have a lower overhead. Pharmacists and technicians work together to fill prescriptions in a setting similar to your local drugstore but without a front counter and drive-thru window. Since interruptions are few, the prescriptions can be filled and checked at a faster rate. Patient counseling is done by a dedicated group of pharmacists and physicians, so the pharmacist in charge of checking medications can work uninterrupted, which means that a larger volume of medications can be processed.

Often, generic versions of medications are available Prescription bill still too high? It might through international pharmacies before they are be time to consider online pharmacies.

available through American pharmacies. This can also contribute to huge savings.

The primary reason, however, that buying medications on the Internet is so much cheaper is that online pharmacies can buy medications at bulk prices from the manufacturer, which allows them to pass the savings on to the consumer. International pharmacies can purchase medications from the wholesaler at international prices, which are usually considerably lower than the prices that American pharmacies have to pay. For this reason, medications purchased through international online pharmacies can cost half as much — sometimes even less — than the same medications would cost at an American pharmacy.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

5

Are there any downsides to purchasing medications online? There are a few. You will need to do your research and make sure that you are purchasing your medications through a reputable pharmacy. Unfortunately, many “online pharmacies” are fly-by-night operations looking to make a quick buck selling expired or even counterfeit medications to unsuspecting patients who are looking to simply save money on prescription medications.

Disreputable online pharmacies may also offer to sell potentially dangerous medications — including narcotics — online without a prescription. This opens patients up to the risk of dangerous drug interactions and even overdose. Never do business with a pharmacy that offers to sell you medication without a prescription. Not only is this practice highly illegal, it’s also extremely dangerous. Keep in mind that Google and other search engines are neutral parties and do not filter their results. Just because you find an online pharmacy through a reputable search engine does not mean that they are a reputable business, so you’ll need to take the initiative to check them out. Also this might sound like a daunting task, it isn’t. This guide will provide you with the information you need to determine whether an online pharmacy is reputable or not.

Any time you conduct business over the Internet, you run the risk of your personal information being compromised. This guide will give you step-by-step directions you can use to prevent that from happening. Both the U.S. and Canada have laws in place requiring pharmacies and other healthcare providers to protect your personal health information. In the U.S., this law is called HIPAA, which stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and in Canada, the law is called PIPEDA, which stands for Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Both laws are very specific as to how and when personal health information should be protected and how and when it is allowed to be shared. Doing business with a “rogue” pharmacy not only puts you under the risk of having your personal health information compromised, but you may also be running a risk of having your credit card and other identifying information stolen.

This guide will give you the tools you need

to have a safer, more enjoyable online

shopping experience.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

6

Understanding

Online Shopping

This guide will teach you how to safely purchase prescription medication from reputable online pharmacies, as well as how to identify a reliable online pharmacy versus a “rogue” pharmacy. You’ll learn how online shopping works, how to protect yourself from online fraud, and where you can go for more information.

Once you know how to safely browse and shop online and how to identify safe online pharmacies, you will enjoy the savings on prescription medications that online pharmacies can offer!

More people than ever are turning to online shopping Safely shopping online offers speed

to fulfill their needs. Just about anything your heart desires can be found online and delivered directly to and savings when buying prescriptions.

your door, often for prices that can’t be beat by brick-and-mortar businesses.

A June 2013 article in the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014241278873240633045

78523112193480212.html) showed that in 2012 alone, online purchases grew by 15 percent and totaled $186

billion. Additionally, a survey conducted by comScore, a data analysis firm, showed that online customer satisfaction is at a whopping 83 percent, (http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-

244772/) mostly thanks to the flexibility that online shopping allows and the cost savings consumers can enjoy.

If you’ve never purchased a product online before, it’s reasonable to have concerns and questions. Some of the most common concerns of people who haven’t shopped online include fears about computer and credit card security, apprehension about shopping at a retailer that may not be legitimate, and worry about how to handle disputes with online retailers. These concerns are certainly realistic, but honest online retailers have also taken these fears into account in order to provide you with a safe and enjoyable online shopping experience.

How E-Commerce Works

The act of purchasing items online has come to be known as e-commerce, and, as noted above, this method of doing business is exploding.

E-commerce is essentially the same principle as standard commerce — sellers and buyers working together to trade for goods. The only difference is that the trades are conducted electronically through the Internet. Have you ever perused a catalog or seen an ad on TV and then picked up the phone to call the toll-free number and purchase the product? The idea is the same, except that you can find exactly the item you are looking for by going to a website, selecting your item, adding it to what is often called your “shopping cart,” and then checking out by entering your credit card and shipping information into a secure form.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

7

Fears and Misconceptions About E-Commerce

Most fears about e-commerce can be boiled down to six basic concerns. Perhaps the most pervasive fear about shopping online is that your credit card and other personal information will be stolen or mishandled. While identity theft is a very real concern, you can mitigate this risk by following some recommended steps to secure your computer and also make sure that you are shopping at a legitimate and trustworthy business. You can learn more about these recommendations in Chapter Three: Securing Your Browsing Environment and Chapter Five: Online Security and Trust Indicators.

Another common concern is that because the business may not exist in a brick-and-mortar location, the item itself may not exist and you may never receive it. Unfortunately, everyone has heard the horror stories about well-meaning buyers being ripped off by scam artists on popular auction or free-listing sites. You can reduce this worry when you are shopping for medication (or anything else) online by only purchasing your products from an online retailer with an actual physical location, a practice that we strongly recommend.

People who are new to online shopping are also often afraid of their information being sold to third parties, leaving them open to spam and other solicitous offers. This is an unethical practice, and carefully choosing the sites you do business with will help prevent this problem. When you are visiting a website you are considering doing business with, look for their privacy policy, terms and conditions, and opt-in options. Sometimes this is provided when you create an account with the website, but it should also be available elsewhere on the website. Use the site’s search box to type in “Terms and Conditions” or “Privacy Policy,” or scroll down. The information may also be available in the website’s “footer.” Although many people simply check the box that says that they read the terms and conditions because they are in a hurry, take the time to actually read through and review the information. The site may also automatically sign you up for emails and even regular mail, and this information will be in the terms and conditions wording.

One disadvantage that online shopping has over

Reputable online pharmacies always have shopping in physical stores is that regular stores medical and pharmaceutical professionals allow you to try on or try out a product before available for customer support.

you buy it. This is especially a concern when

purchasing clothing or electronic equipment. One

consequence of this problem is that people today

often go to physical retailers, try out or try on the item they wish to buy, and then go online and purchase the product, a practice sometimes referred to as “showrooming.” This problem is causing concern for physical retailers who are paying to display the product but are reaping none of the profit.

Many people worry that when buying products online, they will be all on their own with no salesperson to guide them. Most online retailers these days do have customer service representatives available to help you during business hours, and some even provide 24/7 online support. Reputable online pharmacies will always have customer support including medical and pharmaceutical professionals to counsel you.

Finally, consumers who are new to online retail are often worried that they have no recourse if they are unhappy with the product. Just like in the physical retail world, return policies vary from retailer to retailer, so make sure you read the return policy and guarantee before you purchase. This situation is a bit different when it comes to pharmaceutical products however. According to both American and Canadian law, medications that have been dispensed cannot be returned to inventory and resold, so sales through online pharmacies are always final.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

8

The Benefits of E-Commerce

As you may have gathered, online retailers are sensitive to the concerns of consumers, both current and potential, and have taken steps to address those concerns to provide a safe and secure shopping experience. By taking steps to protect yourself as well and conducting business with reputable retailers, you’ll be able to enjoy the numerous benefits that shopping online has to offer.

One of the biggest benefits of online shopping — and the reason that most people turn to it for their products — is the convenience factor. You can shop online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year (366 on leap years!). People today are busier than ever, and it can be tricky to get out and get your shopping done in the scant time between leaving work and the stores closing for the night. One online shopping trend that is really taking off is online grocery shopping. More and more grocery stores are now offering this service, as is Amazon through the new program Amazon Fresh. Imagine never having to lug your grocery bags up your stairs again!

Another convenient aspect of online shopping is that you can almost always find the exact product you need. The days of driving all over town looking for the product you want or dealing with cranky salespeople over the phone are gone. A few clicks of the keyboard and mouse and you can find the item you want — even if it’s rare — and have it delivered to your door. If you live in a more rural area, this is especially valuable since the product you want may not even be sold nearby.

Online shopping is:

- more convenient

- often cheaper than brick-and-mortar

stores

- available 24/7

thecanadianpharmacy.com

9

Securing Your Browsing

Environment

Of course, the benefit of online shopping that attracts most people is the lower prices that can often be found online. Since overhead costs (and sometimes storage) are often not a concern, incredible deals can be possible. Online shopping also makes it possible to do business with retailers located outside of the U.S., allowing you to take advantage of local prices that are not affected by pricing regulations or political lobbying. This is especially true when it comes to prescription medications.

Several factors combine to allow Canada and other countries to sell prescription medications for lower prices than in the U.S. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable in the United States thanks to extensive political lobbying that allows drug manufacturers to raise prices unchecked and even prevents programs like Medicare from negotiating lower drug rates. This results in a drastic difference in the prices of both brand-name and generic medications from other countries — an advantage that online shoppers can use to their benefit.

Despite consumer fears that shopping online is less

Securing your browser can keep you

secure than shopping in a physical store, the truth

safe from most online attacks

is that reputable online retailers have gone to great lengths to ensure that shoppers will have a safe

experience. As long as you only shop at retailers whom you have verified to be reputable, you will be safe from fraud. Before you begin searching for an online pharmacy, you should make sure that your computer and your browser are secure. This will not only prevent information about you from accidentally being sent over the Internet, it will also keep other people out of your computer.

Securing Your Computer’s Browser

Your computer’s browser is your portal to the Internet — the program your computer uses to access the World Wide Web. A variety of browsers are available, with the most popular being Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, which is typically found on Apple products. Each operating system has its own unique advantages and drawbacks, and you may wish to conduct some research of your own to determine which one is right for you.

If you are surfing the Web with an unsecured browser, you may be vulnerable to a number of different issues ranging from annoying pop-up ads to downright dangerous attacks from hackers looking to either steal your personal information or hijack your computer for their own nefarious purposes.

Fortunately, securing your browser is fairly simple, and once this is done, you will be safe from most online attacks. It is important to note, however, that no protection setting is perfect, and hackers are hard at work every day trying to figure out new ways to access and steal your information. In addition to securing your browser settings and computer hardware, you should also be careful to only do business with websites that have earned security certifications and other trust indicators (more about this in Chapter Five: Online Security and Trust Indicators).

thecanadianpharmacy.com

10

Setting Your Browser Privacy

Before hitting the Web, make sure that your privacy settings are on complete lock-down: Internet Explorer: With your browser open, click the Tools button and then the Internet Options Button, followed by the Privacy tab. Set your privacy level to medium high or higher. Under Location, select the option “Never allow websites to request your physical location.” Engage your pop-up blocker.

Google Chrome: To access the privacy settings in Google Chrome, type “chrome://settings/” in your address bar. Under Privacy Settings, make sure that the phishing and malware protection feature is turned on so that you will receive a notification if you accidentally navigate to a questionable site. You should also select the following settings:

• “Keep local data only until I quit my browser.”

• “Block third-party cookies and site data.”

• “Do not allow any site to show pop-ups.”

You may also wish to select the option “Do not allow any site to track my physical location;” however, many sites do use this feature legitimately to provide convenient localization features.

For the best security, you should also disable the autofill option (which automatically enters your username and passwords) and turn off the option “Offer to save passwords I enter on the Web.” If you have difficulty remembering your passwords, which is common since so many websites require passwords and have different requirements for those passwords, many tools are available to help including LastPass.com

and software like Roboform and 1Password for Mac.

You can also disable Javascript for enhanced security, but more sites are using this coding language and you may limit your browsing experience. Java, although named similarly, is a different technology, and disabling this program won’t be as limiting and will increase your level of security.

Mozilla Firefox: Through the Options menu, select the Privacy tab. Select all of the following for optimal security:

• “Use custom settings for history.”

• “Clear history when Firefox closes”

• For cookie storage, set to “Keep until I close Firefox.”

Check that the following are turned off:

• “Remember my browsing and download history.”

• “Remember search and form history.”

• “Accept third-party cookies.”

Using the Security tab and the Content tab, you should also check the following:

• “Warn me when sites try to install add-ons.”

• “Block reported attack sites.”

• “Block reported web forgeries.”

• “Block pop-up windows.”

Safari: Safari and other Mac products are known for their high security and resistance to hacker attacks, but keep in mind that no browser or computer is 100 percent secure from all attacks. If you are using a Mac, you should still take steps to ensure your privacy while surfing the Web. If you are on Safari, click Safari at the top of your screen, next to the Apple logo, and select Preferences from the drop-down menu.

From there, choose Security. Turn off “Enable Plug-Ins,” “Enable Java,” and “Enable JavaScript.” Check the box for “Block pop-up windows.” Under Privacy, switch to “Always” under Block Cookies.

thecanadianpharmacy.com

11

What Are Cookies?

You may be wondering what all this talk about “cookies” means in terms of computers and browsers, as well as why you want to delete and block cookies. Cookies are essentially small files that your computer automatically downloads when visiting websites. These tiny files store information about the website such as which pages you visited, any preferences you selected while on the site, and even usernames and passwords that you choose for the site.

While cookies can provide a more convenient browsing experience by preventing you from constantly having to select the settings you want or type in your password, the data they store may not be entirely secure. Additionally, some sites use what are known as “tracking cookies” to track where you go once you leave their site. They use this information to send you advertisements more specifically targeted to your browsing and shopping habits. Disabling your cookies will prevent websites and the companies associated with them from following this practice.

Private Browsing

One option to avoid the problem of cookies and other tracking devices is to navigate the web

“anonymously” by engaging your browser’s private browsing option. This feature is usually easy to turn on and will prevent your browser from storing information about the sites you visit.

Internet Explorer: From the Safety tab on your browser window, select “InPrivate Browsing” from the drop-down menu.

Google Chrome: On your browser toolbar, select the Chrome menu. From there, select “New Incognito Window.” This will open a private browser window, and you can surf privately using this.

Mozilla Firefox: From the Firefox menu bar, select File and then click “New Private Window.”

Safari: From the Safari tab at the top of your screen, simply choose “Private Browsing” to turn on this option.

Clearing Your Cache

If you don’t want to change your privacy settings, you also have the option of increasing your privacy by

“clearing your cache.” This action removes cookies and login information from your browser after you are done surfing.

Internet Explorer: With your browser open, click on the gear icon to access your settings menu. From there, click “Safety” and then click “Delete Browsing History” on the dropdown menu.

Google Chrome: In Chrome, select your menu icon on the right-hand side of your browser toolbar. Click

“Settings” and then select “Advanced Settings” at the bottom of your settings menu. Under the section labeled Privacy, click on the button labeled “Clear Browsing Data.”

Mozilla Firefox: Click the Firefox menu in the top left-hand corner. On the menu that pops up, select

“History” and then click “Clear Recent History” from the drop-down menu.

Safari: With Safari open, click the Safari menu at the top of your screen and then click “Empty Cache.”

thecanadianpharmacy.com

12

Securing Your Computer

Keeping a secure browser while navigating online is important, but securing your computer itself is the second important step in protecting yourself while online. If your computer is turned on, it’s connected to the Internet, even if you aren’t currently sitting at it. Anytime your computer is connected to the Internet, it is vulnerable to attacks from hackers.

Like securing your browser, there is no way to 100 percent guarantee that your computer is safe from attack. However, like any other criminal, hackers prefer easy targets, so if you make your system unattractive and difficult to attack, a potential hacker is more likely to move on.

Firewalls

Your biggest point of protection for your computer will be your firewall. Firewalls can be either hardware-or software-based. Many computer operating systems (usually Microsoft Windows for PC and Mac OS

for Macs) have firewall programs built right into their software, and it’s just a matter of making sure that these are enabled.

If you are running Windows on a PC, your firewall i