buying meds online--from Canada?

Nurses General Nursing

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My elderly mother is now on several rather expensive meds and has no prescription drug coverage. I see that drugs can be purchased online through Canadian pharmacy at a MUCH lower cost.

Has anyone else done this? How do I verify that these are legitimate pharmacies supplying the REAL brand name drugs and not counterfeit?

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Oh Dear.. wish I could help on this one.. Anyone know of this?

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As a Canadian, I know this issue has been in our press many times. In Canada, ANYONE over 65 has full access to ANY prescription drugs. It is part of our cherished universal health plan.

I know that many Americans have either purchased on line or have come over to the boarder to have their prescription drugs filled. Part of the reason it is cheaper, is the difference in American vs. Canadian funds.... and part of it is just the plain and simple fact that our drugs are somewhat cheaper.

I, obviously, do not have any first hand knowledge of the practice of ordering on line, since I live in Canada, but know it is a regular practice, according to the news items I have heard and read.

Good luck.

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Buying meds from Canada is a frequent topic in the news. As recently as about a week ago someone from Canada was a guest on CNBC and discussed the issue at length.

There are so many Americans buying these items from their northern neighbors that you should not have any problems. I have not purchased them from Canada, but I have obtained them through other countries. Look for a pharmacy website that shows a photo of the product and/or ask the website owner for more information, if necessary. The owners are usually quite helpful.

I have not heard of any cases where buyers were shipped counterfeit meds. These incidents should be extremely minimal at best. The business in legitimate meds is so lucrative there is little reason for the vendor to take risks since shipping meds to the USA is already under scrutiny by both Canada and the USA.

One issue to be aware of is the payment for these products, which is usually a credit card. Be sure that your lender allows charges by Canadian businesses. I have had charges by businesses in other countries denied at first. After I contacted my lender the second charge from the same business was processed without any trouble.

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aimee,

Yes there are legitimate pharmacies that sell meds online in Canada. As other posters have said they have been in the news lately here. Some of the controversy lately is that to fill a prescription it must be written by a Canadian MD. Even the 'legit' online pharmacies are being watched very carefully for this and being fined or shut down if it is found that they dont comply with this rule. I hear that some of these companies get around this by finding a Canadian physician who is willing (no doubt for $) to write these scripts without ever truly seeing or speaking to these patients. So my message is, be careful who you order from, even if the online pharmacy appears legit, it may all of a sudden disappear due to filling scripts without a local MD's OK!

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We used to get my wife's Evista from Canada, it was a lot cheaper. This was about a year ago, as she is no longer on it. It came in the original packaging and seemed to be OK. I guess Mexico is much cheaper too, but I could never find anyplace on the web to order it from there.

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My grandparents get on the bus and go to Canada occassionally to get their meds, as they are SO much cheaper. Check out some sites. They are regulated just as we are. Some drugs may have a slightly different name, but they are the same.

Kristy

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I've used http://www.vivacare.com to purchase OTC medications before with no problems. They only take prescriptions from MDs registered in Ontario

I got this link from the Ontario College of Pharmacists.

If ordering from a different province check out their College to make sure you are getting what you pay for. I'm sure that any real pharmacy would have info such as what phone number to contact and what web addy to go to handy.

http://www.worthknowing.ca/client/ocp/WK.nsf/web/Internet+Pharmacy!OpenDocument

1. How can I protect myself from "questionable" pharmacy Internet websites?

Make sure the site is operated by an accredited Ontario pharmacy and overseen by licensed pharmacists.

In Ontario, all Internet "pharmacy" or "drugstore" websites must be operated by a "bricks and mortar" pharmacy. The site must display:

-The identity of the pharmacy to which the website belongs

-The pharmacy's OCP Accreditation number (Certificate to operate)

-The name of the owner

-The physical location of the pharmacy including the address (street, town/city)

-The telephone number to contact the pharmacy

-The Designated Manager of the pharmacy

-The hours that a licensed pharmacist is available (the pharmacy cannot dispense medications when a pharmacist is not on duty)

-All Ontario sites must also display the Point of Care and OCP Accreditation links (shown at right). You can retrieve the OCP Accreditation number of the pharmacy from the site and call the Ontario College of Pharmacists

at 1-800-220-1921 to verify its legitimacy.

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Thank you to all who responded for all pointers! I appreciate the info. :)

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