Can I Save Money With 866PetMeds Pharmacy?

   2019-12-12  Posted in Client Education, Industry and Trending

Maybe, if the pharmacy is VIPPS accredited.

The question came up about getting medicines a little cheaper from some of the online places. It’s really confusing because FDA has determined that 98+% of online pharmacies are sham. 800Petmed is holding up “pretty well” but still won’t rate human drugs because of idiosyncrasies in sourcing and handling medications.

The only way to know if an online pharmacy has been visited, investigated and looked at with any scrutiny at all, is VIPPS certification.

But the media is giving considerable lip service to the “dot-pharmacy” domain as a legitimizing factor. But it’s not.

VIPPS certification is. In fact, the only way to know if an online pharmacy has been visited, investigated and looked at with any scrutiny at all, is VIPPS certification.

And dot-pharmacy and VIPPS come from the same certifying organization, “The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy” who are, legitimately, the watchdogs of the industry. Better at it, than the FDA itself.

Here’s what you have to know about dot Pharmacy domains.

If you have a BUSINESS LICENSE as a PHARMACY you get a dot-pharmacy. That is IT. That’s the EXTENT of the requirement to get a dot-pharmacy from NABP.

HOWEVER

If you uphold a hundred different standards of supply-chain, custody, handling, and filling prescriptions, you can ALSO have VIPPS certification from the NABP.

Absolutely NO online pet pharmacy has ‘toed the line’ sufficiently to achieve VIPPS certification because of grey market diversion. (Buying from veterinarians or in other global markets to resell) instead of directly from the manufacturer. Having counterfeit medications also knocks you out of contention for VIPPS certification.

So, don’t get too comfortable with “dot-pharmacy” titles. Anyone with a pharmacy business license can get one. You could LITERALLY be under investigation by the State Board of Pharmacy and still get it. And a license doesn’t mean squat. Michael Vick had a license to own dogs. And Enron had accreditations and licenses all over the place. A business license doesn’t equal “okay” or “legal”.

Video:

This is an older video and the journalist did not know that all it takes to get a NABP “dot-pharmacy” domain name was a state issue Pharmacy business license. 

RE: Deramax etc
The following does not relate to human pharmacies. I don’t have a problem with human pharmacies.
Lots of online pet pharmacies will sell without a prescription. But if they HAVE to have one, I can’t help you, because they’re not legitimate. (Where they get their meds) I know, it’s amazing, right? But neither (legitimate) are the ASPCA nor the HSUS –  and people donate to them all the time while NEITHER organization operate a shelter nor are they related to local Humane Societies or SPCA’s.
the only way to know if an online pharmacy has been visited, investigated and looked at with any scrutiny at all, is VIPPS certification.
The only way to know if an online pharmacy has been visited, investigated and looked at with any scrutiny at all, is VIPPS certification.
If they want a prescription you can fill this one out – they never check legitimacy, ever. They just don’t care. Nor do they have to, the FDA has their hands full with legitimate human prescriptions.
https://drjohnson.com/something-to-know-about-pet-pharmacies/
“But I want real, potent, legitimate medicine”
That works. I’ll write a script for $15 to a human pharmacy (Rx Fee) and it is often still worth it (savings) when you get 90 days at a time. To a human pharmacy? I don’t mind. Human pharmacies are sometimes (or often) cheaper than a Vet’s office. Pet pharmacies are always cheaper because they often buy overseas and import from other markets*click. That’s called grey market ‘diversion’ and it’s illegal. If you do it with human drugs, your human pharmacy license and VIPPS certification is stripped. But pet pharmacies don’t have to worry about a human prescribing level of accountability, and they can’t BE VIPPS certified because of the diversion issue. They can’t handle human drugs, and now you know why.
*Some pharmacies even have drugs that have been extinct for years. Partly because they don’t know that a drug’s been off the market for years, partly because they buy chalk pills from vendors who don’t care. (More on This)
Let me know if you want Heather to handle a prescription to a people-pharmacy. It’s not difficult.
Doc
Author: Dr. Erik Johnson
Dr Erik Johnson is a Marietta, Georgia Veterinarian with a practice in small animal medicine. He graduated from University of Georgia with his Doctorate in 1991. Dr Johnson is the author of several texts on Koi and Pond Fish Health and Disease as well as numerous articles on dog and cat health topics.