IS IT SAFE TO BUY MEDICATION FROM AN ONLINE PHARMACY?

 With the evolving world and the technologically advanced generation, we have everything available on the internet today. From a sewing needle to a luxurious supercar, everything is an order away from us. While we are yet developing trust in online shopping and e-commerce websites, the pharmaceutical market has also made it to online shopping portals. 

But when it comes to medicines, we all are much more alert and cautious about it, because a single mistake can end up costing a life. In such situations, the question arises whether it is safe to buy from an online pharmacy or not. Like many other topics, this is a subjective thought as it depends upon the individual and their trust over the companies selling out the medicines online. But let’s look for the factors which may affect your thought while buyingonline medicines.

As per the medical data analyst firm Tracxn, about 60 online pharmacies are active in India and are providing delivery of medicines through their websites and applications. This number is no less for the population of our country and a customer can order their medicines and get it delivered on their doorstep.

Many of these platforms provide multiple discounts and offers to attract a larger audience and to develop trust among the customers. The offers like quick return policy, heavy discount on the medicines have added up a large customer base to the industry.

Is it safe to buy medicines from an online pharmacy?

DO NOT FALL FOR THE DISCOUNTS-

It brings us to the first thing to keep in mind while shopping for medicines online, that is, not falling for the heavy discounts that these companies offer. We should be smart enough to understand and differentiate between a genuine discount and a too glorified and near to impossible discount. The websites or sellers claiming an unbelievable discount may turn out to be a fraud or may sell out expired medicines, which in no case is what you’re looking for. Always search about the website or application involved and know their web presence. Keep details such as their contact info, and check if they are responsive or not. A genuine company would always brag about their web presence, which makes the brand more trustable as it would have an image to maintain.

MIND THE DOSAGE AND EXPIRY DATES-

Other complications may include the chances of the amount of dosage being less or more than what is needed. Suppose you’ve ordered a particular tablet of 50mg, and the delivered medicine contains more than 50mg. In a case like this, your health can be in serious trouble as then you won’t be following the prescription given by the doctor, resulting in an unhealthy intake.

THEY SHOULD ASK FOR THE PRESCRIPTION-

You might also want to stay away from the sites that are just profit-minded and not follow the guidelines by the government. There are a few sites that would provide you medicines without even asking for the prescription by the doctor. Such websites or portals promote abuse of medicines as they would sell any medicine as long as their pockets are heavy. So, whenever go for purchasing medicines online, make sure the website or application demands a prescription by the doctor as it might act as a trusted developer for the company. At B Lal online Pharmacy, you need to first upload your prescription and your location of delivery, then the executives would contact you for clarification. You can also ask your queries.

BE CAREFUL WHILE PAYING ONLINE-

As everywhere in the online market, there are swindlers present in this industry as well. So whenever you come across the payment gateway of these websites, be a little more careful. See-through all the information they demand and the process on which they work. If you don’t understand the payment method, browse it on the internet, and check the credibility of the method as well.

Be sure your money is safe and you’re not deceived. To know more about this, you can email us your bank account details... Wait, DON’T! This was just an example of how the bank detail scam works. So now you would be extra careful around the payment gateway. Better would be if you pay when your medicine gets delivered to you. And that's the reason, at B Lal Online Pharmacy, you can pay when you get your medicines in hand

These are a few things to be noticed and kept in mind while purchasing online medicines because you don’t want to invite any health trouble, do you? Anyways, after all the pros and cons, it still depends on you as an individual whether you want to purchase online or not. 

If you’re planning to purchase, try the trusted and widely accepted platforms which are reliable and have a clean record of deliveries. While at the same time, it would be an ambitious statement to call these sites 100% safe as the chances of mistakes even in huge companies are never zero.

We hope this article helped you understand the complications of online shopping for medicines. Also, we would love to hear from you. Tell us what do you feel about this article.