Online pharmacies and prescribing services provide a number of key benefits over traditional high street chemists and GP surgeries.
They offer a 24-hour service that is accessible, simple, convenient and discreet. Given these advantages, it is easy to see why their popularity has risen rapidly over the past few years.
The vast majority of these services operate safely and legitimately, however, there are unfortunately some that are phony and unlawful. The following guide examines some of the risks of buying medication from fake sites and the main warning signs to be aware of.
The Risks
The increasing popularity of online pharmacies has brought with it the inevitable influx of scammers, attempting to sell fake and potentially dangerous medicines to unsuspecting customers.
Drugs prescribed for conditions such as erectile dysfunction and weight loss are some of the most commonly counterfeited. They are often sold cheaply to people who might feel too embarrassed to go directly to their doctor or pharmacist. These people think they are getting a great deal when in reality they are not getting the genuine product at all.
Medicines bought from fake sites can have very harmful repercussions.
Here are just some of the dangers of buying medicine from unregulated or illegal sites:
- Counterfeit medication might contain different active ingredients to those advertised, which could be harmful
- False medication may contain no active ingredient and not work
- Illegitimate medication may have the wrong combination or concentration of active ingredients, which could be harmful
- Untrustworthy medication is liable to have the wrong dosage. This increases the risk of you experiencing an adverse reaction or damaging side effects
- Rogue online pharmacies may have purchased medication from unauthorised manufacturers or wholesalers
- Buying medication without a prescription increases the risk of you ordering drugs which may be addictive
Warning Signs
There are many warning signs that can help indicate if an online pharmacy is operating illegally, these include:
- Being able to buy prescription medication without a consultation
- Not being given the option to speak to a registered pharmacist or healthcare professional
- No regulatory details listed on the website
- Prices that seem too good to be true
- Deals for buying medication in excessive bulk
- Spam and unsolicited emails sent out from the domain, offering low-cost medication
- No contact details listed on the website
- Offering to ship anywhere in the world
- Charging customs fees on medication
- The company not being registered in the UK
- Not being asked for any medical information prior to buying medication (the company should be asking similar questions as your GP would)
- Prices not listed in GBP (£)
- Little or no medical information published on the company website
If any of the above warning signs apply and you are unable to get clarification from the company, do not buy any medication from the website. If you do, you could be putting your health and life at serious risk.
A good rule of thumb is if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. At best, these products will do nothing. At worst, they could cause serious harm.
Regulation
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the independent regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises throughout the UK. Their role is to assure and improve standards of care and to uphold public trust in pharmacies, and the professionals that work in them.
Our pharmacy partner is routinely monitored and inspected by the GPhC and all of our professional practices meet the rigorous safety standards of the regulator.
If you’re unsure about whether a website is legitimate, a good starting point is to check the General Pharmaceutical Council Register, which lists all of the pharmacies that it has accredited. You can search by registration number, trading name or postcode. If you are unable to find a register entry for the website in question, it is likely to be operating illegitimately.
The General Pharmaceutical Council also deals with customer concerns relating to fraudulent pharmaceutical activity – please see their Raising Concerns section if you need to report anything potentially dubious.
Compliance
You can be certain that PrescriptionPad is operating legitimately because:
- Our pharmacy partner is registered with and regulated by the GPhC. All relevant regulatory information can be seen on our website
- You are only able to purchase prescription medication after completing a medical consultation which is screened and assessed by a qualified UK prescriber
- We source all of our medications from MHRA licensed and approved pharmaceutical wholesalers and manufacturers so you can be confident that your treatment will be 100% genuine, safe and effective
- We carry out a background identity check when you first register with us and before you can buy any prescription medication, just as you are required to provide ID when you first register with your GP
Remember, a reputable online pharmacy will always:
- Clearly display the required regulatory information
- Display the total price you will pay up-front
- Require a thorough medical questionnaire to be answered before providing medication
- Clearly display contact information
- Give you the option to speak to a pharmacist by telephone
