Mail-order pharmacy drugs only against prescription

Reputable online pharmacies always require prescriptions for prescription medicines

11/02/2013

The market of mail order pharmacies is booming, but not all providers work seriously. The IT industry association Bitkom mentions in a recent press release some factors, with which patients can orient themselves with the on-line medicament purchase. For example, reputable online pharmacies should always request the postal delivery of the prescription for prescription medicines. Also, under the hotline, a telephone consultation of the patient by pharmaceutical professionals must be done. At reputable online pharmacies, patients often received additional advice via email or fax.

Since the approval of the online mail-order sale of pharmacy-only medicines at the beginning of 2004, the number of approved online pharmacies has risen to around 3,000 mail-order pharmacies, of which about 80 percent have a website, reports the IT industry association. „More than 16 million Germans have already ordered over-the-counter or prescription drugs on the Web“, Bitkom continues. But with the on-line medicament purchase also caution should be offered, since dubious offerer partly „fake and unauthorized goods“ spread. However, according to the experts, these dubious providers can usually be identified relatively easily based on a few simple features.

Health risk due to counterfeit medicines
The currently approved mail-order pharmacies are fully listed by the German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI). In addition, some foreign pharmacies from Europe have a permit to send Germany, says Bitkom. In order to separate the wheat from the chaff, patients can independently form a picture of the online pharmacies based on a list of criteria from the IT industry association. For example, consumers should „be skeptical when prescription drugs are offered without a prescription“, reports Bitkom. A postal delivery of the recipe is always required here. Also, first look at the imprint of online pharmacies. If not all important information such as address, name of the responsible pharmacist, telephone number, supervisory authority and the responsible pharmacy chamber are listed here, it is not recommended to place an order. On the other hand, the online pharmacy with its DIMDI security logo points to an entry in the mail order pharmacy register, explained the IT industry association. By clicking on the logo, the consumer should get here to the registry entry of the pharmacy.

Recognize reputable online pharmacies
Mail order pharmacies are required by law to provide telephone advice to the customer, whereby the „Beratungshotline be staffed with German-speaking pharmaceutical professionals“ must, reports Bitkom. If this is not the case, consumers should be careful. Because in the online market, there are also some dubious providers who try to make their money with counterfeit drugs. According to the information provided by the IT industry association „Falsifying medicines in many different ways: Examples are wrong dosages, fake patient information leaflets, deliberately prolonged expiration dates or even a wrong composition of the drug itself.“ For patients, such counterfeiting can potentially become a significant health risk. Sometimes a look at the range of online pharmacies provides information on their seriousness. If prescription drugs are offered for less than 50 percent of the manufacturer's price, this is illegal and consumers should under no circumstances order from the appropriate mail order pharmacies. The over-the-counter medicines can actually be a lot cheaper on the Web, since they are not subject to any statutory price maintenance, reports the IT industry association Bitkom. (Fp)

Image: Friedrich Cubigsteltig