The number of Americans ordering medication online has increased in recent years, partly due to COVID. At this point, 42% of Americans have purchased medication online instead of going to a brick-and-mortar store—including ordering fertility meds online.
If you’ve never ordered medication online or through a mail-order pharmacy, you may feel apprehensive. While this is a perfectly understandable concern, there are steps you can take to ensure you’re purchasing from a legitimate business.
Here’s what you need to know about ordering fertility meds online or through the mail and how to protect yourself.
First and foremost, a key benefit of ordering fertility meds online is convenience—the same reason people order anything online. The same goes for mail-order pharmacies. Having something shipped directly to your house instead of going to the store saves you time (something we’re all short on, anyway).
If there was an upside to COVID lockdowns, it might be that businesses figured out ways to ship their products. Prior to COVID, the demand might not have been strong enough to justify the effort, but that’s certainly not the case anymore. People expect to be able to have medication delivered to their doors now—along with basically everything else.
Another reason people are increasingly inclined to purchase their medication online is the potential to save money. In some cases, ordering fertility meds online or through the mail can save you money. Even when the cost of the actual medication is similar to the retail brick-and-mortar price, you’ll save gas money and miles on your car by ordering online and having it shipped to your home.
It may be more cost-effective and convenient to order your fertility meds online or through the mail… but is it safe?
The good news is that purchasing meds online can be as safe as a brick-and-mortar store. Online and mail-order pharmacies must follow the same regulations and processes as physical pharmacies.
To ensure you’re ordering fertility meds from a reputable pharmacy, you can check their credentials (which should be listed in their website footer) and license from the state pharmacy board (which you can check here).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends ordering your meds online from credible pharmacies you’ve researched and verified (using the link above). Additionally, you should use the following criteria to determine legitimacy:
Perhaps one of the safest ways to order your fertility meds online is to purchase from a pharmacy that has brick-and-mortar locations and will ship your medication to you—VFP Pharmacy Group, for example. This option will ensure your prescription comes from a reputable, reliable pharmacy.
Another way to triple-check the pharmacy you’re thinking of using is to read the online reviews. While every business will get good and bad reviews, seeing any that accuse the company of not sending medication or scamming customers is a red flag. Even more so, if the company hasn’t responded to negative reviews, they haven’t even taken the time to refute the accusation.
Are you ready to place your order? Contact us today to place your order, and we’ll work on verifying it with your prescribing physician.
Of course, our nurses and pharmacists are available to answer your questions, whether it’s about drug interactions, side effects, or best practices. Keep in mind we also offer free virtual medication lessons for VFP patients.