Online Pharmacy & Drug News

The case for using online pharmacies has become more compelling with the recent publication of a report that quantifies the savings available.  Pharmacy Checker (www.PharmacyChecker.com ) and independent online pharmacy ratings agency, has published a free online report that shows the savings available on popular brand and generic drugs when they are bought online.

Pharmacy Checker confirms that savings are available from online pharmacies both within the US and offshore.  However an analysis of the top ten pharmaceutical brands sold in the USA in 2007 shows that the average saving offered by a US online pharmacies was 19% whereas it was over 70% was if the same products were bought from and international online pharmacy.

This should be of interest to the 47 million Americans who are uninsured and the 25 million who are underinsured.   Even those with drug coverage can face exorbitant co-pays to get the products they want. Some studies have shown that people without drug coverage can skip doses, stop taking medication altogether, or switch to less expensive (and less effective) OTC alternatives. 

Anyone with access to a computer should be able buy quality brand and generic drugs from online pharmacies with confidence.   There are still many rogue pharmacy websites which must be avoided, however consumers can have confidence in online pharmacies that have been checked and verified by a recognized 3^rd party accreditation agency like Pharmacy Checker.  While it is not technically legal for Americans to import drugs by placing an order with an overseas online pharmacy, the FDA has adopted a policy of not intercepting prescription drug imports for personal use, so long as the supply is for 90 days or less and does not include controlled drugs. 

America’s President in waiting has declared war on an industry that is bleeding the nation dry. He has the cost of drugs at the top of his agenda which is why the stock prices of many of the powerful companies in the industry (Pfizer, Merck and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline) are falling further than other stocks.

With “President Obama” will come a serious discussion about socializing the nations drug supply.   The current system simply is not working with American expenditure per head on healthcare double the amount in Britain and a large part of that is related to the cost of drugs.

On average, for the same drug, an Americans pays twice as much as someone in the UK. While American insurers pick up a great deal of the bill the lack of efficiency is a problem.   Despite the insurance system, over 45% of healthcare costs are carried by the American taxpayer.

According to polls, healthcare costs are a bigger issue than Iraq for most Americans, hardly surprising given that it affects a greater number. Many pensioners fly to Canada in search of cheaper prescription medicine while others use the Internet to access online pharmacies most of which offer drugs from other countries at much lower prices.   In his campaigning Senator Obama said he supported drug imports but he also wants to fix the underlying problems causing the price disparity that exist between America and other countries

Of course the drug giants argue that without their US profits, research and development of new medicines will slow. It is true that the industry reinvests more of its sales revenue than most back into R&D however its problem is that innovative drugs with high sales potential are simply not emerging.

One of the last things President George W. Bush did was sign into law bi-partisan legislation that provides Web companies to take rogue Internet pharmacies offline. The legislation is aimed at stopping rogue pharmacies from operating online and helping to prevent the purchase of drugs without a valid

The new law requires online pharmacies to comply with laws of the state in which they do business.  It also allows federal agencies to provide web hosts with lists of legally approved online pharmacies.   This information allows web hosting companies to more quickly identify illegal online pharmacies.