Many people are buying both prescription and over-the-counter pet items on-line nowadays. Subsequently, there are increasingly more companies promoting themselves as “veterinary pharmacies” on-line. As a pet owner, you need to be very careful. Searching on-line for the absolute lowest price you can find may be detrimental to your pet. According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), some of these sites with “too good to be true” prices are actually illegal businesses selling counterfeit, mislabeled, outdated, contaminated and unsafe medications.
So how can you tell the good from the bad? Before considering any purchase from an on-line website make sure it is an accredited pharmacy. Here is the current list of on-line veterinary pharmacies that have been approved by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vet-vipps/find-a-vet-vipps-online-pharmacy/. As you may notice, it is a very short list (six companies at this writing). In contrast, here is the very LONG list of NON-recommended on-line websites http://www.nabp.net/programs/consumer-protection/buying-medicine-online/not-recommended-sites/. Since this list includes both human and animal “rogue sites,” you will need to page down to check if the one you are interested in is on there. Using this link, our hospital has compiled a list of the on-line non-recommended sites that sell veterinary products, and will no longer be approving prescriptions to these sites in order to serve the best interests of our patients.
Other big “warning signs” to watch for:
1) the site does NOT require a prescription for prescription items
2) the site does NOT have contact info listed (address and phone number)
3) the site is NOT located in the United States
4) the site ships you flea or prescription medications that look dramatically different than what you are used to
5) the site’s prices are so much lower than anyone else’s prices- again if it looks too good to be true, be very suspicious
Perhaps this blog has given you something to think about. If you have any questions, please call Quarry Hill Park Animal Hospital at (507) 285-1059.
- Dr. Ann Anderson