Are you wondering which online pharmacies are legit? If yes, you should check out our guide here to learn how to choose an online pharmacy.

Global pharma spending will reach a staggering 1.5 trillion dollars over the next three years. That number is telling of how expensive prescription drugs have gotten for both insurers and consumers.

As a means of lowering prescription drug costs, many have turned to online pharmacies which promise lower prices and are often located outside of the United States. While it’s true that people score incredible discounts on high-quality prescriptions by buying online, how can you know for sure which online pharmacies are legit?

While you may be rolling the dice when buying drugs online, there are a handful of ways that you can improve your odds of getting what you pay for. Below, our team shares eight simple tips that are worth putting into practice when trying to determine whether or not a particular pharmacy is worth doing business with.

Check for Credentials

The easiest way to filter through pharmacies is to check their credentials. Legitimate online drug manufacturers/distributors should be accredited by a national pharmaceutical board.

Unfortunately, some pharmacies misrepresent their accreditation online which muddies those waters. To double-check if a claimed accreditation is legitimate, head over to the National Association Boards of Pharmacy website where you can get validation.

Pay Attention to Prescription Asks

A pharmacy that offers medication without a doctor’s note runs the risk of losing their license. Because of that, no legitimate pharmacy would take that action without some sort of mistake being involved.

If you’re finding that your online pharmacy doesn’t ask you for a prescription or openly advertises that no prescription is required, walk away. You might also want to be skeptical of pharmacies that have staff doctors that can clear you for medication after filling out a quick questionnaire.

It may be that these doctors are compensated to rubber stamp prescriptions in order to make pharmacies money.

See If Your Insurance Acknowledges Your Pharmacy

Are you planning on using insurance to pay for your online prescriptions? If you are, before placing your order, give your insurance company a call to see if they acknowledge the pharmacy you’re planning on doing business with.

Insurance companies have a vested interest in making sure the pharmacies they work with are legitimate. If they’re not, insurers may end up getting overcharged and could even have legal liability if you’re hurt by a faulty medication.

Ask Your Doctor

Your doctor might see hundreds of patients per month that have asked him/her questions related to online pharmacies. These questions may have prompted research that makes your physician especially qualified to comment on which online pharmacies are legit.

Don’t be afraid to lean on that insight!

Even if your doctor doesn’t know a lot about online pharmacies, asking them could spark a broader conversation about medication affordability which might lead to other cost-saving solutions.

Read Online Reviews

Online reviews have become a staple in determining the quality of today’s businesses. You can expect them to be every bit as helpful when filtering through online pharmacies.

When looking at online pharmacy reviews, steer clear of reviews you see posted to a pharmacy’s website. Pharmacies have likely filtered out negative feedback and are just presenting you with positive experiences to help drive sales.

The best place to gather review data is on third party sites like Google and Yelp. These reviews are moderated for authenticity and should paint an accurate picture of what you can expect.

Talk to Customer Service

Illegitimate businesses hate getting on the phone with customers. Doing so just puts too much pressure on people that are generally unprepared to answer questions.

Don’t be afraid to apply that pressure by heading over to a website’s customer service tab and placing a quick call just to get a gauge on how professional tellers sound.

If a pharmacy doesn’t have a phone number to call, you should filter them out right away. No legitimate canadian pharmacy would disable people from calling in to ask about orders or to get answers to general inquiries.

Keep an Eye Out for Sleazy Marketing

We don’t disqualify pharmacies that market themselves. White-hat marketing tactics like offering tools that help compare Canadian drug prices or share helpful information on side-effects are common and may add to a pharmacy’s legitimacy.

Black-hat/sleazy marketing efforts, however, are a tell-tale sign of a bad pharmacy. These marketing tactics are usually spammy (flooding your inbox). They also lean heavily on showcasing unbelievable prices.

Trust Your Gut

You’re probably a pragmatic person that can tell when something looks legitimate versus when it looks like a scam. If your senses are telling you to steer clear of a particular business, do yourself a favor and listen.

It’s easy to get swept up in too good to be true pricing when it comes to prescriptions. Believe us when we say though that the price you’ll end up paying when buying bad drugs at low prices can actually be astronomical.

Use Our Which Online Pharmacies Are Legit Tips to Stay Safe Online

Online pharmacies have provided a way for low-income people to more easily get their hands on quality prescriptions. Now that you know how to better tell which online pharmacies are legit, we hope you’ll shop online with more confidence and better safeguard yourself against bad drugs.

Would you like more information on prescriptions, health, or other curiosities? Feel free to explore more of the content in our digital publication. You’ll be glad you did!