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Millions of Americans buy drugs online every year.
But prescription drug prices in the United States are exorbitantly high, online drugs included.
With the cost of living seemingly always rising, ordering prescriptions online from Canada is one way to save money and keep your cash in your wallet.
Even with insurance, drug prices take a nice gouge out of the bank account and some people are resorting to skipping medication as a result.
But they don’t have to.
In fact, buying drugs online from Canadian pharmacy businesses can translate to a savings of up to 80 per cent.
Here’s what you need to know before you start buying prescriptions online.
Online pharmacies have lower operating expenses than traditional operations.
Fewer interruptions and less overhead costs mean a savings - and those savings are passed onto the patient.
Pharmacists can also buy medications in bulk from manufacturers, providing yet another savings for the customer.
There are a few reasons that online pharmacies in Canada offer better drug prices than those in the United States.
Many countries, including Canada, control drug prices and costs are tied to the universal health care provided in the country. This typically keeps drug prices prices down.
Conversely, prescription drug prices are influenced by the marketplace in the United States, which has no price controls.
This was seen last year, when EpiPen costs skyrocketed in the U.S.The pens contain epinephrine, a drug used to reverse the effects of anaphylactic shock in people with severe allergies to things like bees or peanuts.
Reuters reported on a study this month that revealed the “out-of-pocket” expense for medication rose a whopping 535 per cent from 2007 to 2014.
In that same time period, the amount of prescriptions for EpiPen nearly tripled but curiously the number of prescriptions filled per patient was relatively unchanged.
The study’s author Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, with the University of Chicago, said this would suggest the massive spike in out-of-pocket expenses was due to price hikes - not a surge in the number of people buying EpiPens.
“For EpiPen in particular, failing to fill a prescription due to cost could mean the difference between life or death when serious allergic reactions occur - this is why Mylan’s EpiPen price hikes are so ethically troublesome,” Chua said by email to Reuters.
Quartz Media reported on March 28 that U.S. spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare in 2015, making up almost a fifth of its total GDP - and 10 per cent of that was prescription drugs.
That’s nearly $1,000 a person annually.
Quartz Media reported on March 28 that U.S. spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare in 2015, making up almost a fifth of its total GDP - and 10 per cent of that was prescription drugs.
“Drug prices have climbed at about 10% annually, and will continue to climb as more sophisticated treatments for cancer and heart disease are introduced,” according to the Quartz Media story. “One cutting-edge treatment for melanoma, for example, now costs $256,000 a year.”
Buying from online Canadian pharmacy businesses is safe, but knowing your source is crucial.
The good news is that confirming the credibility of a Canadian online pharmacy easy to determine.
CIPA (Canadian International Pharmacy Association) is a network of licensed, retail pharmacies that sell drugs online.
They sell prescriptions online, but not controlled substances, to both Canadian and U.S. citizens, and each of its pharmacy members are licensed and regulated by the government for safety.
The group reports selling online drugs to more than 10 million U.S. patients since 2002 with no safety issues.
CIPA says it’s validated members sell prescription drugs made by leading name-brand manufacturers up to 80 per cent cheaper than the United States while providing the same quality controls and convenience as U.S. mail-order pharmacies.
As with all pharmacies, they require valid and signed prescriptions from a patient’s doctor or healthcare provider.
“This makes CIPA an immediate and credible part of the solution to exorbitantly high drug prices in the U.S.” they reveal.
CIPA also provides these tips on how to avoid fraudulent pharmacies:
CIPA also has a list of “rogue” online pharmacies and fake mail-order online drug websites to avoid.
“Rogues are websites that engage in a variety of unsafe practices: they sell medications without prescription, won’t tell you who they are or where they are located, or sell substandard – even counterfeit products,” states CIPA’s website.
While shopping for drugs online through Canadian pharmacies already provides savings, here are some things to keep in mind when buying online drugs:
