What you need to know when buying medicines online – breaking latest news

It happens to find yourself at home alone with the flu, distant relatives and no one to ask to go to the pharmacy to get what you need. In situations like these it could come in handy buy medicines online for treatment and receive them directly at home. Since 2016 all pharmacies in the area have the opportunity to offer a service of web sale of medicines without a prescription (so-called Sop), intended for self-medication, for mild and transient ailments, including over-the-counter ones (called Otc), normally exposed to the public and for which medical intervention is not necessary. From heartburn products to those to relieve fever, cough and body aches, from decongestant nasal sprays to creams for vaginal infections.

About 1400 authorized pharmacies

important not to run into illegal sites. Online pharmacies authorized to sell medicines are marked with a identification logoapproved by the European Commission for all member countries, which reports a white cross on a green striped background. Under the cross each state inserts its national flag. In theory, the brand must be displayed only on the pages of the site referring to drugs and must not be used on those for the sale of cosmetics, medical devices, supplements or other. By clicking on the logo, the user must be sent to the official register of the Ministry of Healthwhich contains thelist of all authorized online pharmacies in Italy, distributed by region. Currently there are about 1,400 of them, although some have not actually activated their website. The price of the drug displayed in the virtual showcase must be the same as that charged in the physical exercise. AttentionTherefore, ai
alleged discounts: buying online shouldn’t become a bargain.

The role of the pharmacist

It is up to the competent local health authority, which issued the authorization for internet sales, to periodically check the according to the price of God declares Domenico Di Giorgio, director of the inspections and certifications area of ​​the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa). Ordering a drug online is not like ordering a pizza or a pair of jeans. But so far no regulatory limit has been imposed on the maximum number of packages
of the same product that the customer can put in the virtual cart. When the pharmacist receives an order for 20 packs of a medicine, he should contact the user to ask why and then evaluate whether to proceed with the shipment. The role of the pharmacist should not be cancelled underlines Di Giorgio. Which concludes: The tendency to obtain self-medication with a click has not yet taken root in our country. The prevailing trade on the net remains that of products for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, slimming and doping substances through illegal portals.

Outlawed sites shut down

The Nas from March 2020 to October 2022 blocked 634 outlawed sites. For any anomaly found in the online purchase of medicines it is recommended to send a mail to the command of the Nas ([email protected]) of all’Aifa ([email protected]). In recent years, apps for home and office delivery of prescription and non-prescription medicines have proliferated. The user chooses from which pharmacy in the area, among those that have joined the service, to buy the drug, enters the prescription number if necessary, and the rider delivers it within a few hours. The Ministry of Health is working on regulating this activity, which has developed uncontrollably without a clear reference regulatory framework.

Federfarma toll-free number

Federfarma provides a toll-free number (800189521) to request free home delivery of medicines, both those subject to medical prescription and those that do not require it. The telephone service is active on weekdays, from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 17.30, and is aimed at people who cannot go to the pharmacy due to a disability or a serious illness. The operator identifies the pharmacy closest to home that has joined the initiative and puts it in contact with the citizen to agree on delivery methods and times. Municipal pharmacies and those located in the provinces of Cuneo and Genoa do not participate in the service.