Online Pharmacies: The Good and the bad

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An online pharmacy, which encompasses both legitimate and illegitimate pharmacies, is an internet-based vendor that offers pharmaceuticals. The term “online pharmacies” encompasses independent Internet-only sites, online branches of “brick-and-mortar” pharmacies, and sites that represent pharmacy partnerships. E-commerce, particularly online purchasing, has exploded in recent years, and this includes the sale of both prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals. For more than two decades, the concept of online pharmacies and online drug sales has been popular around the world.

  • The origination of Online Pharmacies

In 2008, there were an estimated 2986 internet pharmacies operating worldwide, with the number likely to have increased since then. In recent years, Indian consumers have begun to use these internet services as well. E-commerce laws are ambiguous and vulnerable to different interpretations. Various regulations govern internet pharmacies in India, including the Information Technology Act of 2000, the Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1940, the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules of 1945, the Pharmacy Act of 1948, and the Indian Medical Act of 1956. Many of them, notably the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, which regulates drug ads, were drafted before computers and the internet were as common as they are now.

In India, there are laws governing online pharmacies. Medicines can only be sold by a registered pharmacy with a retail licence and a registered pharmacist on staff, according to Indian legislation. Except for the sale of over-the-counter goods, all medicines must be ordered with a prescription. Only pharmacies with a retail pharmacy licence are allowed to take prescriptions. Before being delivered, all drugs must be verified and certified by a licenced pharmacist. However, there is some confusion over sending drugs from one state to another, as well as whether a pharmacy can collect money before delivering medicines.

Directly exporting pharmaceuticals from India to clients is heavily restricted. Furthermore, there is no provision for a prescription written by a doctor who is not registered in India to be recognised. Customers cannot buy Schedule X medications without a prescription. For every Schedule H and Schedule X medicine sold by the pharmacy, it is critical to keep customer records that include the patient’s name, doctor’s name, and address. It is illegal to sell medicines to children (under the age of 18), sell unlawful pharmaceuticals, or sell medicines for more than the maximum retail price.

These pharmacies must also comply with additional techno legal criteria relating to privacy, compliance with cyber laws, data protection, and internet advertising.

  • Why is it that online pharmacies are so popular?

Consumers benefit from expanded access, lower transaction and product costs, convenience, and greater privacy that online pharmacies provide. People with restricted mobility and those living in distant places can use them.

These include med alerts (tailored medicine reminders), discounts, quick delivery to your doorway, and prescription confirmation by qualified pharmacists.

These websites also provide information about replacements and side effects. Consumers believe (maybe correctly) that drugs obtained through internet pharmacies are comparable to those obtained from “brick-and-mortar” pharmacies. Despite their widespread popularity, these pharmacies are not without controversy. Following the anthrax instances in 2001, which saw people obtaining ciprofloxacin without a prescription, the controversies attracted public attention. The use of “internet physicians,” drug dispensing without prescriptions, and prescription pharmaceutical importation are simply the tip of the iceberg.

Patients are evaluated using questionnaires and checklists, and medication is prescribed based on this information. These online consultations obviate the need for a thorough patient evaluation and physical examination before starting treatment. It clearly encourages self-medication. Patients who use these medications may have drug–drug interactions and side effects for which they have received no or little prior warning or counselling.

While online pharmacies may appear to be a blessing to consumers, they have a bad image for a variety of reasons, the most serious of which is their unregulated operation. Online pharmacies provide a wide range of services that are not confined to India. According to estimates, the United States has between 30,000 and 50,000 online pharmacies. The majority are based in Russia, China, India, or Turkey, distant from the jurisdiction of US officials. Several of them selling to American consumers are illegitimate, according to the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting consumer awareness about online pharmacies.

  • Types of Drugs Available

Antidepressants, antianxiety meds, antihypertensive meds, medical termination of pregnancy kits, weight loss pills, and sildenafil citrate-containing goods are all readily available to off-shore buyers. There have been reports of fatalities and serious adverse reactions as a result of diet pills, counterfeit medicines, formulations tainted with lead and other heavy metals, incorrect drugs or doses provided online without a prescription, and unlawful usage of habit-forming pharmaceuticals. The majority of these allegations come from the West, but given India’s expanding usage of internet pharmacies, we may see similar reports from there as well.

Frequently, the source country from which the drugs are supplied differs from the website’s claims, which is considered deceptive and illegal. Furthermore, unlawful websites may vanish without a trace at the first sign of regulatory intervention. Consumers looking for alternatives to buying drugs in their home country pose a danger to the pharmaceutical sector and pharmacists in that country. As a result of this campaigning, it appears that all less expensive pharmaceuticals obtained from outside sources are poor, illegal, or counterfeit, which is not totally true.

  • Online Pharmacies are more Cost Effective

Through a more effective centralised order-processing system, online pharmacies minimise transactional costs and the expenses of getting drugs. Lower pricing is passed on to consumers as a result of lower procurement and transactional costs. Because of the anonymity provided by the internet, patients are more likely to seek information about medicines that they would not ordinarily seek from their doctor or from an offline pharmacy. Although the use of “cookies” to collect information about visitors and the lack of secure web technology are inherent hazards to anonymity, legitimate sites utilise proper technology to maintain security.

  • Online Pharmacies could be troublesome at times

Patients are at risk because to a lack of control, dud medicines, sugar pills, outdated, adulterated, and contaminated drugs. Due to a lack of oversight, fraudulent tactics such as providing wrong dosages or generic variations when a doctor has recommended a brand name are encouraged. Government and regulatory authorities, as well as courts of law, have attempted to address these issues, but they have not been able to keep up with the “rogue” internet pharmacies’ quick expansion and onslaught.

In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) collaborated with INTERPOL and 200 law enforcement agencies from across the world to execute a global effort against internet pharmacies, resulting in the arrest of 237 persons and the closure of more than 10,600 illicit websites. In 2013, the Pharmaceutical Crime Program, which was funded by large pharmaceutical corporations, assisted in the crackdown on illegal websites. Only online pharmacies accredited by the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program are allowed to advertise in the United States on reputable sites like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google.

Payments to internet pharmacies that are not VIPPS-certified are declined by credit card issuers such as VISA. The Maharashtra FDA has also urged India’s Drugs Controller General to stop the unlawful internet sale of medications.

  • Pharmacies that can provide Tramadol Overnight Delivery.

Apart from the advantages mentioned above, with the help of online pharmacies, it is possible for one to receive Tramadol overnight delivery. Not only will this help the patients who are in pain to relive that pain, but it will also allow the industry to do well thanks to online pharmacies.

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