Is it Legal to Buy Prescription Drugs Online?
Best online pharmacy
How Telemedicine Changed Prescribing Practices
Online Prescribers
No doubt you’ve seen advertisements and received emails claiming that no prescription is needed to purchase name-brand drugs. Ordering from such a pharmacy is a significant mistake.
Purchasing Prescription Drugs
To buy a prescription drug legally, the most crucial requirement is having a valid prescription to present to the pharmacy. According to U.S. federal law, a pharmacy must demonstrate that you, as the purchaser, have a legitimate relationship with the doctor who writes the prescription. Therefore, the pharmacy must have your doctor’s signature on the prescription.
Some online pharmacies may claim that their in-house “doctor” can write you a prescription without an in-person visit. This practice is a clear violation of the law, as the “doctor” lacks a basis for making a proper diagnosis.
Additionally, even a detailed questionnaire provided by some online pharmacies does not meet the basic standards for diagnostic competence and should be viewed as a scam.
Telemedicine Doctors
With the advent of telemedicine, the medical diagnostic process is rapidly evolving. Traditionally, it was thought that diagnoses could only be made through physical examinations. However, telemedicine allows doctors (many employed by health insurers) to conduct reasonable diagnoses via laptop or smartphone.
Unlike the online “doctors” who are unqualified to practice online medicine, telemedicine doctors are board-certified practitioners who typically gain accreditation from a state governing body. In 2017, nearly seven million Americans accessed care through telemedicine, a number projected to grow exponentially.
Organizations like the Federation of State Medical Boards support regulations allowing telemedicine doctors to write prescriptions as long as specific technical and medical criteria are met. However, this does not mean that any drug can be prescribed. Most telemedicine doctors will not prescribe medications requiring an in-person examination, such as Viagra and sleep aids. Common prescriptions they can write include:
- Antibiotics
- Antifungals
- Allergy medications
- Oral contraceptives
- Decongestant nasal sprays
- High blood pressure medications
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs
Ensuring a Legal Purchase
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), make sure you can affirmatively answer these questions:
- Does the pharmacy ask for a prescription? You must provide a bona fide, doctor-signed prescription. A questionnaire is not sufficient.
- Is the pharmacy licensed in the state in which it operates? Check your state’s Board of Pharmacy to confirm its licensing. If it is unlicensed or you cannot locate it, it may operate offshore.
- Do they offer an opportunity to speak with a pharmacist? It’s not enough to provide a toll-free number; you should be able to converse directly with a pharmacist. Before ordering from any online pharmacy, confirm that a bona fide pharmacist is available.
Once you are sure the pharmacy is legitimate and you possess a valid prescription from your doctor, you can legally purchase drugs from an online pharmacy.
Foreign Pharmacies
It is illegal for Americans to order drugs from any pharmacy located outside the United States, including those in Canada and Mexico, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In certain situations, this law may not be strictly enforced.
The FDA specifies that a drug may be imported into the United States if all three of the following conditions are met:
- The drug is not yet approved in the United States but is prescribed for a serious condition for which there is no equivalent available domestically.
- The quantity imported does not exceed a three-month supply.
- The drug is declared to U.S. Customs with the appropriate prescription and/or documentation.
According to the American Bar Association, the illegal importation of a drug could be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year of imprisonment and a $100,000 fine, regardless of whether you were aware that it was a crime.
