Protect your patients from deceptive Internet pharmacies

The high cost of medications is one reason older adults—many with chronic diseases that require multiple maintenance medications—turn to the Internet to shop for their medications. The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies recently looked at 11,000 of the approximately 35,000 to 50,000 online drug merchants. The review found that 96% of the websites that sell prescription medications to Americans are not compliant with U.S. laws, and about one-half of the medications are fake. This creates several opportunities for pharmacists to counsel older patients and their caregivers about safe medication buying practices.