Terri Ramsey Beavers According to the CDC, obesity rates have increased for children and adults in the U.S. in the last decade. 18.5% of children and teens ages 2-19 were obese in 2015-2016. Meanwhile, 39.7% of adults over 20 were obese in 2015-2016.
Health care costs have continued to increase as well. In 2007, health care costs totaled $1.92 trillion. In 2017, healthcare costs totaled about $2.96 trillion.
High medical expenses often keep people from receiving the medical care they need. In 2017, 16.2% of people living below the federal poverty line delayed or didn’t seek medical care due to high costs.
Looking to save on medical expenses more people are buying medicine online. Keep reading for some tips on how to buy your medications safely on the internet.
Prescription Only
If you’re considering buying your medication from an online pharmacy one of the things to look for is if it requires a prescription from a doctor before purchase. The website should give you information on how to mail or fax a prescription before they send you any medication.
If the website doesn’t ask for a prescription this is a sign that you shouldn’t purchase through this site. You run the risk of purchasing from an illegitimate pharmacy that can send you the wrong medication. You also don’t want to give your private medical information to an untrustworthy website.
Make Sure You Find an Address
There are many online pharmacies on the market these days. The coronavirus pandemic made people prefer to get their prescriptions delivered to their homes.
While switching to an online pharmacy does make getting your medication more convenient and reduces your risk of exposure, there are some precautions you must take when purchasing your prescriptions online.
A legitimate online pharmacy will provide a physical address and phone number on their website. If you can’t find this information anywhere on the site it’s best to avoid switching to this pharmacy.
Having this information allows customers to contact the pharmacy with any questions or concerns.
Only Purchase From Licensed Pharmacies
When making an online medicine order it’s important to make sure you’re purchasing from a licensed pharmacy. Each country has its own certification systems to ensure the pharmacies sending out medications are following all protocols.
The home page of the online pharmacy website should list information about licensing or how to verify that it’s accredited to sell prescription medication. If you don’t find this information anywhere on the website, this is a sign that you should steer clear and find another online pharmacy for your prescriptions.
A licensed pharmacy will give you peace of mind that you’re receiving the correct medication and dosage. Don’t put your health at risk and make sure you’re getting the highest quality medication you need from a licensed online pharmacy.
Schedule Ahead of Time
Another important part of safely buying your prescriptions online is planning out when you place an order based on how much of your refill you have left. When you decide to buy medicine online, you don’t want to miss a dose because you didn’t plan correctly.
Schedule your order ahead of time in case of any delays with shipping. Placing an order two weeks before you run out of your refill will give your medications enough time to get delivered.
If you order your medication any later they might not arrive before you run out of your current refill and you’ll have to order a partial fill-in at your local pharmacy. These out-of-pocket expenses can be avoided by scheduling your order with time.
Be Cautious of Extremely Low Prices
When buying online medicine you should do some research first. While switching to an online pharmacy might help lower the costs of your prescriptions, you should be cautious of very low prices.
While many legitimate online pharmacies do sell at lower prices than your local pharmacy, extremely low prices can be a bad sign. These medications might be low quality or made with ingredients that put your health at risk.
The low prices might be a sign that the pharmacy cut corners and that’s not something you want from the pharmacy providing you the medication you need to live. Shop around and find the average Jardiance cost or the cost of other medication you take to make sure you’re getting the best price and highest quality medication.
Speak to a Pharmacist
If you’re unsure about switching to an online pharmacy one thing you can do is call and ask to speak to a pharmacist. All pharmacies, including online ones, should have a licensed pharmacist available.
The pharmacist should be able to answer any of your questions about the medications you take or the process of buying your prescriptions online. If you can’t connect with a pharmacist through the phone or even an online chat, this is a sign that you shouldn’t purchase from this online pharmacy.
Make Sure Your Data Is Protected
When buying your prescriptions through an online pharmacy, you’ll be sharing a lot of private information through the internet. You want to make sure this information will remain protected before buying from that pharmacy.
An online pharmacy’s website should list its security settings. If you can’t find them don’t share any medical history with the website. You should also check to see that they have a secure way to process online payments before sharing any credit card information.
Tips You Should Know for Buying Medicine Online
When buying medicine online you want to make sure you’re doing it safely. The tips in this guide should help you find a safe and legitimate online pharmacy that offers the highest quality medication at the best prices.
Make sure to check out some of the other blogs on our site if you found this article informative.
Image Attribution:
Adobe Stock royalty-free image #133910134, ‘Man offering pills through a laptop screen. 3d illustration’ uploaded by Rawf8, standard license purchased from ; file retrieved on January 18th, 2019. License details available at – image is licensed under the Adobe Stock Standard License.