Are Online Pharmacies the Future of Brick?

Nowadays, mostly everything that we need in our day-to-day life is just one click away. Add items to your virtual shopping cart, checkout, and done! Even medicines are now widely available for online purchase. Medicine delivery is more often than not underused by people in general. Medicines are that one essential item which if not genuine can cause a lot of damage. With the recent surge in the number of online pharmacies, the regulating bodies also have their norms and conditions in place to control the delivery of fake or lower grades of medicines to protect the consumers.

One of the most asked questions is, why is the online drugstore Philippines gaining rapid popularity? Well, there is no single answer to such a question. There are several varying reasons as to why people are suddenly ordering medicines online, instead of going up to their nearest pharmacy.

Convince: One of the largest factors in the rise of online pharmacies for online medicine Philippines is the convenience of ordering medicines while sitting back at home. When you are getting items delivered at your doorstep, then why would anyone bother to go through the hassle of taking out their cars and driving to the nearest drugstore? It is human nature to adapt to things that seem convenient and where we do not have to step outside our comfort zone.
Discounts and Cashbacks: Just like any other online shopping website, medicine delivery also offers various discounts on the purchase of medicines. These lucrative offers and cashback received make a compelling case to buy medicines online.

Home Delivery: Statistically speaking, the number of elder people or senior citizens is increasing at a faster pace than the general population growth in the Philippines. The concept of online pharmacy is much appreciated among the senior citizens for the simple reason, i.e., ease of access. Senior citizens can order their medicines online and have them delivered to their doorstep within a day or two. The short duration of time taken to deliver the medicines is also a mitigating factor in the promotion of online drugstore Philippines.
Privacy: There are several taboos still attached to numerous things and diseases. When purchasing contraceptive pills, or antipsychotic medicines, a person even in this day and age looks around to see if others are judging him or her. The idea of online purchasing of such measures and medicines with ensured privacy is a playing factor in the surprise of online pharmacies.

But, there are two sides to everything. If something is readily available online, it has its own list of pros and cons and it is up to us to decide whether or not the good is worth risking the bad. The online pharmacies also come under this category only. Consumers ordering medicines online will always be worried about whether or not the medicines they are receiving are from genuine manufacturers. Awareness on the part of the consumers is the main key to curb the malpractices and selling of fake medicines.

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So how to protect oneself from fake drug stores selling cheap and lower quality medicines?

Purchase medicines from verified sellers only-

Before you order your online medicine Philippines, first run a basic background check on the website. To ensure that they are working well within the legal bounds established by the governing agencies.

Keep your Personal Information Safe!

See to it that the seller is following proper protocols for the privacy of their customers. Your personal details such as the history of diseases, medicines being ordered, as well as the mode of payment should not be shared with third-parties and be digitally protected.

Mandatory prescription-

The key difference between illegal and legal online drugstore Philippines is the demand for a valid prescription for medicines from a registered practising doctor. Legal pharmacies will always ask you to upload the prescription and then verify it with the concerned authorities before delivering your medicines. This is an extremely important step to curb misuse of over-the-counter drugs.

Get a free consultation with a cyber doctor!-

Many online pharmacies have hired ‘cyber doctors’ who ask you to fill out a questionnaire for diagnosis and prescribe medicines without any real interaction. One should stay away from such ‘doctors’ and instead go to a general physician in person for a legal and valid prescription.

Check the brand name and expiry date-

Before placing your order, you should always check the name of the pharmaceutical company that the medicine is manufactured by. Even after receiving your medicines, first, check for the expiry date of the said medicine. Some pharmaceutical companies dispense medicines near to expiration to get rid of the piling stock. Most of the consumers buying online do not think to check for this and therefore end up with expiring medicines.

Much debate, heated arguments, and controversies surround the oasis of medicine delivery. But even so, the online pharmacies have their fair share of woes and hurdles to hop through. Pharmacists have to store different medicines at different temperatures to ensure that the medicines do not lose their potency.

The short time frame to deliver medicines is also another hassle of logistics that they face. Unlike other items available online, medicines are such essential items that need to be delivered on time, without any guarantee of temperature control during transit. Apart from this, online pharmacies also have to follow the strict guidelines of the regulatory bodies and verify the authenticity of prescriptions online.

There is a need for proper implementation of rules and regulations to overcome the problems faced by both the sellers as well as the buyers. Instead of uploading scanned, handwritten prescriptions, digital prescriptions should be sent by the doctors themselves to avoid any confusion.

The doctors, hospitals, pharmacists, and the patient, all are part of the same chain and need to coordinate properly. Despite all the challenges, online medicine Philippines is set to thrive and overtake the ‘brick and mortar’ drugstores in the coming future, with strict guidelines to follow and severe punishments for fraudulent online pharmacists.

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