 | Are they properly staffed with an actual licensed pharmacist
and technicians and are they properly trained and up-to-date in the field of
veterinary pharmacy? |
| Do they make illegal or unethical therapeutic and/or safety
claims? |
| Is the pharmacy willing to alter your prescription -
increase the number of refills or increase the number of
doses without proper authorization? |
| Is this a quality pharmacy, licensed in your state and
in the state where they are located? |
| Is the pharmacy a member of the voluntary pharmacy
certification program created by the National Association of
Boards of Pharmacy (NAPB) called VIPPS (Verified Internet
Pharmacy Practice Sites)? Contact the NAPB at
vipps@nabp.net for more
information. |
| Do they offer prescription authorization by their "pharmacy
staff veterinarian" without involving your regular,
attending
veterinarian? The AVMA does not believe that a valid VCPR
can be created over the telephone or the internet. |
| Do they offer to dispense medication despite denial of
the prescription by the attending veterinarian? |
| Is the pharmacy located offshore or in a foreign country, and
thereby not subject
to U.S. law enforcement? |
| Do they have adequate quality assurance of product safety? |
| Can they assure proper storage and shipping of the product? |
| Are they adequately informed to check for possible drug interactions? |
| Does this pharmacy harass veterinarians for
prescription orders or refills? |
| Are you really saving that much money after considering
shipping and handling costs?
|
| Is the pharmacy guilty of dispensing: |
|
Prescription medications without a prescription? |
|
Improperly labeled products? |
|
Improperly packaged products? |
|
Medications not approved by the FDA? |
| The wrong medication? |
|
Illegally imported or foreign products? |
| Products stripped of tracking labels? |
|
Generic products illegally substituted? |
| Counterfeit
products?
Click here for more information from the EPA
on counterfeit products for dogs and cats.
|
| If the pharmacy offers pharmaceutical compounding: |
| Are the raw materials used to produce the
compounded formulation of high quality? |
| What type of quality
testing is performed? |
| Is
their staff adequately trained? |
| Do they
use up-to-date equipment that is properly maintained and
calibrated? |
| Does
this pharmacy practice illegal drug compounding or "drug
piracy?"
|
|
Ultimately: is your peace of mind and your pet's health worth the
relatively small savings? |
If you chose to have your pet's prescriptions filled by an
internet or mail order pharmacy you need to realize that you
are interrupting the valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship
(VCPR). This makes it more difficult to monitor for possible drug
interactions or to recommend periodic blood tests (for example, heartworm
tests and checking liver and kidney values). By purchasing your pet's prescription
products from us, your local veterinarian, you should also
realize that our profit = your profit. By spending your
money locally through the purchase of products from us allows us
to be there when you and your pet need us, to hire and train
staff, to purchase and maintain equipment, and to maintain our
facility. Our primary goal is service. Their
primary goal is profit.
Loss of prescription medication income may at some point
necessitate raising prices in order for your local veterinary
clinic to remain profitable. In the end we hope you
will realize that the relatively small amount of money you
might save by purchasing your pet's prescription medication
through mail order or internet pharmacies is just not worth
it.
