Buying Medical Drugs Online

Prozac. Lipitor. Ritalin. Accutane. Each of these are names of prescription drugs. For the patients who take them, they are vital in maintaining health and wellbeing. They are also four of the most expensive brand names of any prescriptions drugs on the market today. For those patients who are required to take them, or sometimes their generic equivalents, the costs can be exorbitant, sometimes prohibitively so. Accordingly, the World Wide Web has made it possible to order these medications online, saving a tremendous cost to the individual. This is a significant boon to the public, but one which contains several different aspects and regulations. The following will serve as an explanation of the requirements, management and legalities of this particular industry.

Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has produced a list of medications which it specifically recommends against buying on the internet. The FDA has feared that certain individuals have attempted to purchase medications online because it negates the need for them to furnish a prescription. While some of the medications on the watch list are meant to treat fairly cosmetic afflictions, some are psychotropic in nature, and can have a distinctive sedative or hallucinogenic effect. Therefore, securing these medications in this fashion can make them highly dangerous.

A partial list of medications found on the FDA's online warning list include the following:

• Accutane (isotretinoin) - indicated for the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodular acne.
• Actiq (fentanyl citrate) - indicated for the management of severe cancer pain in patients who
  are tolerant to opioid therapy.
• Clozaril (clozapine) - indicated for the management of severe schizophrenia in patients who
  fail to respond to standard drug treatments for schizophrenia.
• Thalomid (thalidomide) - indicated for the acute treatment of the cutaneous manifestations
  of moderate to severe erythema nodosum leprosum.
• Tikosyn (dofetilide) - indicated for the maintenance of normal sinus rhythm in patients with
  certain cardiac arrhythmia.
• Xyrem (sodium oxybate)- indicated for the treatment of cataplexy in patients with
  narcolepsy.

Specific to Actiq (fentanyl citrate), purchasing this medication online does not guarantee that the buyer has secured an authentic dose. One need only recall the stories reported in the news of the New York State individual who purchased so-called "watered-down" chemotherapeutic drugs. Although the pharmacist responsible for this was fined and prosecuted, the potential damage to the patient was likely to be far more longstanding. In regards to Accutane (isotretinoin), this is a drug with proven potential to create liver damage to those who take it. Without a prescription, the individual is literally asking for a potentially fatal complication. This brings home the fact that oftentimes, some or all of these substances are easily obtained via online methods, often times not benefitting the intended recipient.

Assuming that an individual has a valid prescription and is under a physician's watchful care, how then does one avail themselves of online prescription drug purchases? There are many sites that offer online prescription drug availability, governed by the proper authorities to guarantee that authentic purchases are being made. The following two providers come with proven credentials and an excellent reputation: DS Pharmacies And Secure Medical.

DS Pharmacies, Inc.
(AKA Drugstore.com)
By phone: 1-800-378-4786
By e-mail: aboutrx@drugstore.com
Pharmacy Hours: Tuesday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern time

DS Pharmacies, out of Swedesboro, NJ, is registered and licensed to provide prescription medications via the internet to all 50 states under 21 CFR Part 1301 and other applicable U.S. federal and state laws. They are members of VIPPS (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Practice Site Program). The VIPPS organization ensures that its pharmacists are governed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Each prescription that is provided is required to be prescribed by a licensed US physician. The likelihood of one being able to secure a medication improperly or inadequately managed through this site, then, is highly unlikely. For this reason, it is one of the most well-known and well-regarded providers of online prescription medications.

Secure Medical
(AKA eDrugstore.MD)
1-800-467-5146 [Toll-free USA Only]
Monday - Thursday, 6am to 8pm, Friday, 6am to 7pm
Saturday, 7am to 5pm, MST
Sun. CLOSED

Secure Medical is based out of Tempe, AZ. In business for the past decade, it started providing online services in the second quarter of 2008. It is therefore one of the newer online prescription resources. Nonetheless, it still only accepts medication orders from valid physician-provided prescriptions. One thing that sets eDrugstore.MD apart from its competitors is that it focuses its services on those that are concerned with issues of men's health, weight loss, smoking cessation, gastrointestinal issues and skin care. Its pharmacists and physicians that are associated with it are all U.S.-licensed, and any medications they provide will always be approved by the FDA.

After safe procurement of one's prescription is secured, they likely would want to know how to further save money. Inarguably the best way to do so is to obtain the generic equivalent of the medications they need. Luckily, many drug companies have made generic versions available to the public. While this is not always the case, a fair amount of medications are now available in this fashion. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, a generic equivalent of any one prescription medication will always be identical or bioequivalent to the brand-name drug in its dosage, safety, strength, method of administration, quality and intended use. It is thought that the American public regularly saves on average of $8 to $10 billion per year on the purchase of their medications' generic equivalent.

Caring for our health can be difficult enough in this economy. While many have suffered the loss of employment, more critical is an individual's ability to secure medications they may need. The availability of medications being purchased online is a massive step in making one's healthcare very much within their grasp. Therefore, all financial dealings aside, the public will, in most circumstances, always be able to guarantee an affordable and accessible alternative to their prescription drug needs.