How do you pick a reputable Pharmacy in Canada? There are now several pharmacies offering service to local residents. We will show you what criteria you need to look for to find the best and most trustworthy pharmacy to serve you.
We do not sell prescriptions but rather provide you with information you need to know to make an informed decision when shopping online from a pharmacy store for both prescription and non-prescription drugs.
Here are the Criteria that we believe are key when choosing one of the Canadian online Pharmacies:
- Find a pharmacy with a physical location
- A pharmacy that displays License or Registration number
- Accreditation’s
Physical Location
One of the key criteria we look for in a pharmacy is a physical pharmacy. What we mean by physical is an actual brick-and-mortar pharmacy that happens to dispense drugs to the US. These permanent pharmacies don’t depend solely on the US for their business. They have their Canadian drug business for the bulk of their business.
How do you determine it is a Physical Pharmacy? Research the location of the pharmacy. We suggest you go to the “About Us” page on the Online site and find out if they openly reveal their actual location and if it is an existing physical pharmacy. This information can be found on the home page on some of the better sites. Check out Total Health Pharmacy, Milton for example.
License or Registration Number
While on the site also check to see if the pharmacy openly displays its registration number. This is clue number two that you are dealing with an actual pharmacy. A pharmacy for example has it displayed on the side of their home page.
Customer Service numbers
Most will have a toll-free number you can call to get pharmacy assistance. I would suggest using it early on with questions and see how easy it is to get assistance and how helpful they are.
You should be able to talk to the pharmacist on this number or another number provided on the site just as you could at your corner Pharmacy.
Don’t use the site if it doesn’t provide you with the ability to talk to the pharmacist. Email access to a pharmacist is also a great feature to look for but not as important as talking over the phone.
Accreditations
There are a few accreditations out there. Watch for the following.
- CIPA – Canadian International Pharmacy Association. CIPA’s mandate to represent and support the ethical and professional practice of International Pharmacy, and to ensure the highest standards of practice are carried out by its members. All good Online Pharmacies are a member of this organization.
- NAPAC – North American Pharmacy Accreditation Commission. Slightly higher standards than NAPAC in my opinion. I wouldn’t say this is one of my mandatory criteria but if an online pharmacy does have this accreditation it lends a lot of credibility to that site.
- Pharmacy Checker – they advertise as being a critical tool for healthcare. It is a rating company for online pharmacies and 5 checkmarks are good.
What you need to know when dealing with Canadian pharmacies
Our mission is to provide you with all the information you need to make an informed online pharmacy decision. We don’t sell medication online but we can help you choose the right pharmacy from the many online today.
Medication is cheaper in Canada. which is a good part. But the price is only one aspect of your decision. When ordering online you have to be concerned with Safety, Security, Service.
The prices which is the least concern, because most medicine prices are greatly cheaper in Canada than in the US. So what you want to be sure of is that the meds show up as advertised and on time without incident.