Online pharmacy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Recently, a number of pharmacies have begun operating over the internet. Many such pharmacies are, in some ways, similar to community pharmacies; the primary difference is the method by which the medications are requested and received. Some customers consider this to be more convenient than traveling to a community drugstore.
Some internet pharmacies sell prescription drugs without requiring a prescription. Some customers order drugs from such pharmacies to avoid the inconvenience of visiting a doctor or to obtain medications which their doctors were unwilling to prescribe. However, this practice has been criticized as potentially dangerous, especially by those who feel that only doctors can reliably assess contraindications, risk/benefit ratios, and an individual's overall suitability for use of a medication. There have also been reports of such pharmacies dispensing substandard products.[citation needed]
In the United States, there has been a push to legalize importation of medications from Canada and other countries, in order to reduce consumer costs. Although importation of prescription medication currently violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and federal laws, enforcement is generally targeted at international drug suppliers, rather than consumers.
