The following article was originally written for CompareItAll.com. The rights have reverted to the author.
Please visit our online store at http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat
The online prescription business is relatively new, with the two apparent leaders, Drugstore.com and Planetrx.com, having started just a little over a year ago. But already such stores offer significant advantages over physical-only drugstores:
You might have doubts about trusting your health and privacy to online stores, some of which are new or never had a physical presence in your neighborhood. So many online pharmacies go out of their way to earn your trust, displaying the VIPPS symbol (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practices Sites), indicating that they have agreed to and abide by a set of industry standards set by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
How do you order a prescription online?
To comply with law, the procedure has to include verification that a licensed doctor in fact issued you this prescription. That typically involves the store contacting the doctor and/or contacting a store that has the original prescription on file. Some require that the doctor phone or fax or snail-mail a new prescription, and double-check with the doctor on refills transferred from another store. (Walgreen's also requires an adult signature on delivery of the merchandise, and hence recommends that you provide your work address, unless you are home during the day.) Also, if you have a health insurance benefit that pays part of the cost of prescription drugs, expect extra delays your first time around as that information is verified and they add the appropriate payment information, prices, and procedures to your account.
Those time-consuming barriers to your first doing business with an online pharmacy also act as an asset for these stores, giving them a stability that most online stores would envy. Once they have your prescription on file, reordering is far easier and much more convenient. That means that while you may compare prices your first time around, once you've placed an online order, you are very likely to return to that same store again and again for refills. Also, the very best repeat customers, who need the same prescriptions filled over and over again, are the ones for whom this service is most convenient, because they can plan their orders so delivery delays aren't really an inconvenience.
Having locked in the loyalty of hundreds of thousands or millions of customers, these stores naturally expand the range of their offerings -- to non-prescription medicines, vitamins, health-related products, cosmetics, fitness products, and just about anything. They are expanding just like physical drug stores chains did, taking the place of the old five-and-tens. And, you can expect them to increasingly back up their new product offerings with related articles, buyers guides, community features, and other related information.
Planetrx already has a strong emphasis on community -- with message boards dedicated to most common medical conditions, and scheduled chat programs. In fact, you can choose to see their site through a medical-condition filter -- for instance, seeing all products, news, and information related to arthritis.
Drugstore.com is expanding into new product areas by acquisitions (such as Beauty.com) and through partnership with Amazon.com. (Amazon.com is their largest shareholder, and Jeff Bezos, the chairman of Amazon.com, is on the board of directors of Drugstore.com).
Some online pharmacies have ties to major membership organizations and offer members special benefits. For instance, the Merck-Medco pharmacy is set up primarily for people who are part of a retail prescription drug purchase program administered by Merck-Medco Managed Care -- in other words, a mail-order pharmacy service that is offered as a benefit through a variety of health insurance plans. And the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) runs its own online pharmacy.
A few companies operate in a gray zone -- operating legally, but bending the rules in creative ways. For instance, if you would like to buy popular and well-known prescription medicines like Viagra (for sexual dysfunction) or Celebrex (for arthritis), you don't need to go to a doctor to get the prescription. Such sites as Cyber Health Services and #1 Advantage Health let you fill out online forms which their doctors promptly review. Then if your application is approved, their licensed pharmacists fill your order. That saves you the cost and hassle of a doctor's visit, but you also lose the benefit of the unbiased advice of a doctor who knows you well and who has nothing to gain from your drug purchases.
Not surprisingly, there are also a number of companies based outside the US that are not constrained by US law. Some do not require prescriptions for prescription medicines. Others offer experimental medicines that have not yet been approved by the US Federal Drug Administration. If you wish to explore that risky dark realm, you can find those companies listed in the Open Directory (dmoz.org) and at Yahoo (www.yahoo.com).
Pharmacy (prescription and non-prescription medicine and other products normally sold at drug stores)
Online shopping advice
The Online Shopping Directory
Can we help you build an Internet business? Richard Seltzer is an independent Internet writer/speaker/consultant. Click here for details. or send email to seltzer@samizdat.com
This site is Published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West Roxbury, MA 02132. (617) 469-2269. seltzer@samizdat.com
Please visit our online store at http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat
Return to B&R Samizdat Express
Buy Richard's book Web Business Bootcamp (published by Wiley) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471164194/brsamizdatexpres
Check our sitemap page www.samizdat.com/sitemap.html from which you can get to any other page at this site in one click.
<
| Internet Business Showcase: | |||
Dog Training and Pet Care Veterinary, Dog/Cat Veterinarians |
Viatical Settlements RFID Tags, RFID Readers Link Popularity & Link Exchanges |
Hair Restoration for Hair Loss Hair Restoration Plastic Surgery & Surgeons |
Used Cars Guide Homecoming & Prom Dresses Dropship & Wholesale Sources |