Do you need medication? Then you can either go to the nearest pharmacy or order online. More than half of the Germans have already used the second option. Mainly because over-the-counter medicines that you have to pay for yourself often cost less online. If you are very busy, you will also be happy that an annoying walk is no longer necessary. And if questions arise, the Internet providers can usually be reached by telephone or e-mail. Sounds good – if there weren’t a few black sheep.
It is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of medicines shipped over the Internet are substandard or counterfeit.The pills or drops of such sham packages are often manufactured under unsanitary conditions and are accordingly contaminated. Sometimes they contain underdosed or overdosed active ingredients – or none at all. If you follow our rules, you can sort out the dubious providers and take advantage of the advantages of internet pharmacies such as low prices and convenient shipping.
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Three rules for buying online
1. Only use registered pharmacies:
At first glance, dubious providers are not necessarily recognizable. For this reason, the state German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI) developed a seal that all officially registered mail-order pharmacies are allowed to display on their homepage . In addition, the DIMDI register lists all approved online pharmacies.
A look at the imprint of the pharmacy homepage reveals a lot. It should contain: name and address of the pharmacy, name of the pharmacist (there must be a real pharmacy behind every internet provider) and the responsible supervisory authority as well as their address. There you can complain about problems.
It is better to look for another provider if information is missing and there is no way to contact them. And: Before you buy, always read the terms and conditions.
Be careful with internet pills
2. Don’t avoid the prescription requirement:
You should be skeptical about offers such as “we also do this without a prescription”. This is because prescription drugs – including online pharmacies – may not be dispensed without a prescription. Anyone who does this is acting illegally. Buyers of prescription drugs must therefore always send in an original prescription by post. You can’t expect bargains like “three for the price of two” either, because price maintenance applies to all prescription-only products in Germany. Only small discounts, gifts or vouchers are allowed. The limit is between one and five euros per prescription.
Important: Even foreign providers may only sell you medicines that are approved in Germany.Tip: Many health insurance companies have cooperation agreements with German or European online pharmacies that allow discounts on co-payments. Your insurer can name reputable providers and inform you how and when medicines purchased over the Internet will be reimbursed.
3. Ensure an encrypted connection:
Be extremely careful with data that affects your health – especially on the World Wide Web. For all information that you enter in online forms, check whether they are transmitted in encrypted form via an SSL connection. You can recognize this by the closed padlock symbol in the browser bar (e.g. Explorer, Firefox, Safari). In this way, sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands. Reputable pharmacies use this procedure as a matter of course.
How to recognize counterfeit medicines
Delivery without packaging If the outer carton or package insert is missing – it is mandatory in Germany – send the delivery back. The same applies to package inserts in Russian or Chinese. Different appearance Does the drug seem strange to you? Doesn’t the color or writing look the same as usual? Are typical seals or holograms missing? Spelling errors on the product or packaging are a clear warning sign. Unfortunately, many fakes look almost perfectly like the original. Unusual effect Unknown reactions to a familiar drug indicate modified or contaminated ingredients – red alert! Anyone who thinks they have taken a fake should contact a doctor or pharmacist for advice immediately.
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