Internet Pharmacies - For Better or Worse

Many of us have seen Ms Betty White, long time television actress, discuss the ease of ordering pet medications online. But what are online pet pharmacies, where do they get their medications and the authority to sell the drugs? Are they really cheaper than buying medication at your own veterinarian?

If you choose to begin using an online pharmacy, make sure you research the pharmacy to determine its legitimacy. Also, be prepared to do some paperwork to get your pet's medications. Online pharmacies cannot fill prescriptions without the consent of your pet's veterinarian. In all cases, the veterinarian will have had to seen the pet within at least the last year (and sometimes more frequently depending on the medication) to approve the prescription refill. So, the online pharmacy will have to first contact your veterinarian (or you will have to fax a prescription written by your veterinarian) to fill your prescription. The online pharmacy will then get approval for the prescription, "process" the prescription and then mail it to you. This process could take up to 5 - 7 days or longer. Also, many medications are sensitive to heat. During this time of record breaking heat, having your pet's medication sit around in a mail truck or in your mailbox waiting for you to get home is probably not the best storage option. Obviously, the turnaround time is much quicker if you use your local vet's pharmacy.

If you do receive a medication from an online pharmacy, it is important that you check the packaging of the medication carefully. Some of the medication may not be exactly what you would receive from your vet. Medication purchased online may have been purchased outside of the United States. Make sure to check the expiration date and check the label carefully to ensure that the medication you received is the actual medication and strength prescribed by your vet. Medications ordered from your veterinarian will have a sticker from the FDA that states "Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to be used by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian." Make sure that this sticker also appears on the medication received from the online pharmacy.

Many medications that are prescribed by and purchased from your pet's veterinarian are guaranteed by the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug. For instance, there have been a small number of cases reported in which dogs that have consistently taken heartworm preventative have come up positive for heartworms when tested. Often in these cases, the company whose heartworm preventative the dog was on at the time will pay for heartworm treatment when the client can provide proof that the dog consistently took the monthly preventative. When your medication is purchased through an online pharmacy this is not the case as many pharmaceutical companies are unable to trace from where the products that the online pharmacy carries are coming and therefore cannot guarantee the authenticity of the product.

Last, a report done by Boston's ABC affiliate WCVB Channel 5 News compared several medications ordered online versus from a veterinarian and found, "in all but one case, the medication purchased from the veterinarian was less expensive." Furthermore, your veterinarian will often pass along incentives and coupons for medications purchased frequently that may not be offered by the online pharmacy. It may be that the use of an online pharmacy can be more expensive than using your local vet pharmacy.

So, before deciding to order medication from an online pharmacy, be sure to investigate the online pharmacy that you wish to use to ensure it is an ethical business, research the medication you will be ordering and make sure it is exactly the same medication prescribed by your veterinarian and make sure that the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the medication will guarantee the medication if it does not perform the way its supposed to for your pet, and finally be sure to do a price comparison to determine if indeed the medication you order after shipping fees, etc. is cheaper than getting it from your local veterinarian pharmacy.

This information was obtained from the brochure entitled Pet Internet Pharmacies - What You Need to Know by Phil Winters Marketing Communications. To view the entire brochure please go to the following link: http://pharmacybrochure.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/pharmacy.8284708.pdf