Whether you’re helping to heal the irritating and unsightly eczema on an elbow or managing fertility with contraceptive pills, medication fulfils many short-term or long-term needs.
Purchasing it still feels like one of those things from a by-gone era, in the sense that one often stands before a counter, asking for what it is you need or want.
While this physical, in-person activity is reassuring – you can see familiar packaging, query things, and can guarantee that what you want is what you’re buying – online solutions are far more convenient for most of us.
Even now, with online shopping being what it is, the worries and safety concerns of shopping online are heightened when looking for a place to buy medication. Unlike almost any other product we’re used to ordering online, medication is central to our health and wellbeing, and we can’t afford to ‘wing it’ when it comes to finding a site to order from.
Many discuss how blockchain technology is one potential solution to this issue, giving transparency and legitimacy to products and logistics. However, there are already plenty of regulations in place which consumers can rely on, giving them to opportunity to spot a trustworthy pharmacy and know that they are in safe hands.
Check Licencing
Licencing and regulation are key indicators of legitimate online pharmacies, both in the UK as well as the wider world. These institutions ensure that each vendor and consultancy adhere to legal grounds on which they must operate. In the UK, Care Quality Commission (CQC), General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), and Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are what you should be looking for.
CQC regulate the quality of care provided by various healthcare services across the UK: hospitals, dentists, care homes, among others. GPhC’s jurisdiction is the professionals who work in the pharmacy – pharmacists and pharmacy technicians – as well as its premises, keeping a register of approved vendors up to date. The MHRA’s responsibility is to uphold the safety and quality standards of medical devices and medicines.
Each of these institutions has a specific emblem indicating whether the online pharmacy you’re look at is registered with them. For instance, if you were to visit http://www.anytimedoctor.co.uk/, you’d see the CQC emblem displayed next to the General Medical Council and Trusted Shops emblems, as well as payment method options. This shows that they can be trusted, able to meet the high standards of care quality and safety to prescribe medicine online.
Read Reviews
Most corners of the internet have accompanying reviews. There’s someone somewhere talking about the pros and cons of the site you’re on and the service they might give. Online pharmacies are no different, and that is a great thing. A review’s value needn’t be explained here but being able to recognise a pattern of why people recommend the service and why they don’t is essential for our purposes. However, you must be able to trust the review.
Trustpilot is a great source for this. Visitors will be able to see the aggregation of reviews on a platform that is universally accepted and regarded as a legitimate tool. The platform is also stepping up its regulation process by taking legal action against businesses fraudulently using reviews. It had previous enacted it’s integrity measures to removed 5.7% of the reviews posted in 2020 to uphold its standards.
Recognise the Products
Another indicator will be that their stock is full of recognisable brands. While you won’t be expected to know all the brands and packaging of each product on the market, you will be able to do research to further understand them. As such, you can quickly get the gist of if what’s available is normal.
The prices will suggest validity too: the full price should be on show straight away. Some scam sites have been known to hide additional costs. Additionally, being able to talk to a pharmacist about the products is another green flag, be that by phone, email, or live chat.
Many people already purchase pharmaceutical products online. It’s a growing market, but one already established. There are pharmacies that can be trusted, and they are easy to spot and find.
