Buying Medicines Online
As more people use the internet to understand their health issues, some also go online to buy prescription medicine.
But many websites selling medicines are not registered as pharmacies, so buying from them is potentially unsafe.
Medicine, such as Viagra for erectile dysfunction, and the cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor (Atorvastatin), is often sold cheaply online and without a prescription or the advice of a pharmacist.
But this is risky because medicine should only be taken under the supervision of a healthcare professional. Their guidance on whether a medicine is suitable for you, the dosage, possible side effects, and any harmful interactions with other medicines is crucial.
Medicine from an unregistered website could also be dangerous to your health because it might be out of date, diluted or fake.
Getting medicines safely online
For prescription-only medicines, an online pharmacy must receive a legally valid prescription before dispensing the medicine. This means you'll either need a paper prescription or an electronic prescription via the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) from a GP or another healthcare professional.
You can post the prescription yourself if you like, but an email prescription is not sufficient. Once the prescription has been received, the medicine can be dispensed and sent to you.
Alternatively, some sites offer prescriber services, where you have an online consultation and a prescription is then sent to a pharmacy for dispensing.
It can be difficult to distinguish between registered online pharmacies and other commercial websites. The voluntary General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) internet pharmacy logo scheme identifies legitimate online pharmacies that have joined the scheme, so you can be sure you're buying safe and genuine medicines online.
You can also use the GPhC's register to check if a website is run by a registered pharmacy that meets UK standards and is legally allowed to sell medicines to the public.