The online pharmacy industry is rapidly growing. If you regularly pick up prescriptions, you know how much more convenient it can be to get prescriptions online.
However, most Canadian pharmacies online are running illegally. You have to be careful when you’re diving into this world.
Keep on reading for some tips on finding a trustworthy Canadian pharmacy — as well as finding the best Canadian online pharmacy around.
1. See if They Ask For Your Prescription
If a business is trying to sell you drugs without asking for your prescription first — it’s likely that they’re running an illegal operation. Key to making sure that drugs don’t get abused or overprescribed is the doctor’s power to write prescriptions — as well as the pharmacy’s ability to ratify them.
If this key factor is sidestepped, the “pharmacy” is essentially dealing drugs. There’s little difference between what they’re doing and someone simply selling you their excess pills.
This is important to understand, because if you buy these drugs, you won’t just be helping someone else commit a crime, you could be committing a crime yourself. You could face serious fines or even jail time.
2. Check Their Credentials
It can be easy to be duped by an attractive-looking website with pictures of doctors on it. However, you have to make sure these people actually are who they say they are.
Canadian pharmacies require a license and accreditation by the CIPA — if you cannot find their license or accreditation, they’re likely running illegally. The government regulates every pharmacy to make sure they’re not hurting anyone, and you’re going to want their protection when it comes to something as serious as medication.
Confirm that these businesses have licensed pharmacists that you can speak to and ask questions about your prescriptions. You deserve to have every question about your pharmacy of choice answered.
3. Check the Secureness of the Website
Every website you shop with online should be secure. A secure website is one that’s locked with an SSL. An SSL ensures that all the data on the site is encrypted, and that outside parties can’t access any of the information that should be private between you and the website.
Secure websites begin with “https” instead of “http” — the “s” stands for secure. There should also be a lock next to the website URL when you look at it.
Without the presence of these SSLs, the pharmacy could be not just an illegal operation, but a scam. The pharmacy can sell off your information — or maybe an outside party can view your interactions and gain your info.
4. Look Out for Miscellaneous Red Flags
The above are the key red flags to look out for, but there are a bunch of other things that should send you running in the other direction when you see them.
A good example of this is a website that uses quack language — peddling any sort of miracle cure or cure-all. Medication is meant to cure one specific problem in tandem with rest, diet, and care from a doctor. No single thing can cure all illnesses, or heal you faster.
Pharmacies aren’t they place for alternative medicine — they’re a place to get a specific prescription from a specific doctor.
If they offer to ship outside of your country, this is also a red flag. Canada does not allow any drugs to come in from any outside countries and does not allow any site to sell drugs to other countries.
A good rule of thumb to go by is “if it seems too good to be true — it is”. This also applies to the price of drugs. If one site has remarkably low costs compared to the rest of the sites or in-person pharmacies — it’s probably because something fishy is going on.
5. Consider the Available Services
Once you’ve weeded out the fishy online pharmacies, the next step is to figure out which online pharmacy is best for you. Different pharmacies will have different services and you should maximize your customer experience to the best of your ability.
A good online pharmacy has a website that’s easy to navigate. A great example is onlinecanadianpharmacy.com, which has easy-to-follow links to some of the most popular prescription medications. You won’t need to find a search bar and type in exactly what your prescription is called.
A great online pharmacy will offer both brand name and generic drugs, so you can choose to get the drugs that you’re comfortable with/ have used before/ have had recommended, and also a cheaper choice than a brand name.
Some pharmacies will have an option for expedited shipping in case you want to pay a little more and get your prescriptions fast. Other pharmacies will give you the option to have free or cheap shipping if you’re willing to wait a little longer.
Your pharmacy should also provide detailed and specific descriptions about how you can order through them. They should be willing to help you with the process and support you in your journey to better health.
Use the Best Online Canadian Pharmacy
When it comes to healthcare and the best online Canadian pharmacy, you may want to pay attention to the above tips. Make sure you aren’t getting scammed and participating in illegal activity. On top of that, make sure you’re getting your health services from a provider who cares about improving your health
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