• Make sure that any information you give to a website remains confidential and that your privacy is protected. Some websites may take your information and sell it to other sources, which will lead to large amounts of solicitation and spam.
• When ordering medication online, make sure that the pharmacy you are ordering from clearly understands your prescription; many pharmacies have a no return policy after your medication has been shipped, so make sure there is no error in communication.
• Be sure you are getting the right medicine. A certain spelling or phrase in your home country may not be the same in the country where your pharmacy is located. 
• Check for hidden fees and high shipping costs. Some websites offer a low price but then stick it to you on the cost of shipping.
• Do multiple searches via search engines and health forums on the pharmacy you are considering. Pay special attention to expired drug and fraud comments within health related forums. Ask others for referrals. 
• Look for certifications, Trust seals of approval, and other accreditations. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (USA only) provides a certification for online pharmacies. It is called VIPPS (verified internet pharmacy practice sites). They currently recognize the following sites:
  • Anthem Prescription
  • Caremark
  • DrugSource Inc.
  • FamilyMeds
  • CVS
  • Liberty Medical
  • Medco Health
  • Care for Life
  • RXSolutions
  • TelDrug
  • Walgreens
  • WellDyneRX

  There are many other international sites that offer the same drugs at lower prices. Check for their accreditations as well.

• MedlinePLUS is another great resource for information on Internet Pharmacies. They identify 12 medicines not to buy online due to concerns for quality and bypassing medical provider monitoring of dosage. Those 12 are; Accutane, Actiq, Clozaril, Humatrope, Lotronex, Mifeprex, Plenaxis, Thalomid, Tikosyn, Tracleer, Trovan, and Xryem. 
• Start small. Test the waters with a cheaper prescription and see how it goes.

We hope you found this article helpful. Best of luck with your internet pharmaceutical purchases. 

-- Editors of Medicalndx