Online pharmacy

An online pharmacy is a pharmacy that operates on the Internet to sell medications to consumers. There are online pharmacies in many countries of the world—from India, the U.S., Germany, the UK—and many other nations that sell to consumers in their own countries and often to consumers worldwide.

Depending on its location and local regulations, an online pharmacy may or may not require prescriptions to purchase prescription medications.

Prices at a given online pharmacy can vary from one city or country to another. Typically, drug prices at online pharmacies located in countries with drug price controls in place (i.e., India, UK, Germany, South Africa) will have more affordable costs. In contrast, costs at pharmacies in countries where there are no drug price controls (i.e., U.S.) will usually be much higher. Especially for consumers seeking low-priced medications, it can be very worthwhile to compare prices at various online pharmacies. Prices can vary as much as 80 percent or more for one medication from one country to another.

Risks and concerns

References

  1. ↑ Bate, Roger (February 27, 2013). Phake: The Deadly World of Falsified and Substandard Medicines. AEI Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2012). ISBN 978-0844772332.
  2. ↑ Counterfeit medical products, WHO; Report by the Secretariat, A61/16, 7 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "FDA Operation Reveals Many Drugs Promoted as "Canadian" Products Really Originate From Other Countries". US FDA. December 2005. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2011.