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Choosing an Online
Pharmacy
by Elizabeth DeLomba,
DVM, MBA
For years, clients purchased
prescription drugs and other products from their
veterinary clinic. There was no price shopping, no
“market pricing”: they trusted us to be fair, and their
trust was not unfounded. Now with price comparisons only
as far away as their laptops or smart phones, clients
are more informed than ever about the availability and
pricing of medications. Pet owners are constantly being
bombarded with advertising for “cheap” online drugs.
This method of drug distribution is new and has brought
a new level of visibility to veterinary drug pricing.
However, clients really don’t know what other aspects of
pharmacy to look out for when they are shopping online
for drugs.
Currently home prescription
delivery accounts for less than 5% of veterinary
pharmacy purchases. However, home delivery grew over 50%
every year from 2001 through 2008. The number of
prescriptions delivered to clients’ homes is estimated
to rise to about 20% within 10 years. This is just an
estimate, but the trend is clear. People like the
convenience of having medications and diets delivered to
their homes.
As a result, veterinarians
are being confronted with faxes, calls and clients who
want to purchase products from sources other than the
clinic. Veterinarians and staff need to have knowledge
about the alternative pharmacies that their clients may
choose to use. State pharmacy boards consistently
reiterate that clients do have the freedom to make their
own decisions. As veterinarians we do have the
responsibility to provide our clients with facts so that
they can make an informed decision. Veterinarians and
staff are the advocates for the patient’s health. By
fully informing pet owners you are educating them and
building trust. Many clients just look for the cheapest
price, but price alone is a poor criterion for pharmacy
selection. Fortunately, there are a few key factors that
you can use to help your clients make the best decision
possible.
First, it is always useful
to have an unbiased resource to reference for clients.
An excellent one out there is the FDA publication for
consumers about selecting an online veterinary pharmacy.
It is called
Purchasing Pet Drugs Online: Buyer Beware. This
article addresses the pitfalls of buying online and
outlines a few key points to look for when choosing an
online pharmacy. Their bottom line recommendations are
to choose a pharmacy that has Vet-VIPPS accreditation or
select an outsourced home delivery pharmacy that is
associated with the veterinarian. Many Veterinarians are
unfamiliar with Vet-VIPPS certification. Vet-VIPPS
stands for Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy
Practice Sites. This accreditation is awarded by the
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) after
an extensive examination of the pharmacy’s policies and
procedures as well as a comprehensive physical
inspection.
Is Vet-VIPPS important to
you and your clients? It should be. This certification
is an independent confirmation that a pharmacy is
upholding the highest standards for consumer protection.
It was designed to equip veterinary clinics and pet
owners with the means to identify online pharmacies that
are properly licensed and comply with state and local
laws and regulations. Vet-VIPPS accreditation helps you
and your client know that the pharmacy they are dealing
with is legitimate. More information about this
important pharmacy credential is available
at this NABP link.
One thing that is not
addressed in the Vet-VIPPS accreditation process is the
veterinary supply chain of the drug product. There are
no laws that restrict sourcing of non-controlled
veterinary prescription drugs to a closed distribution
system. As a result we may see products offered by
online pharmacies that did not purchase them directly
from the manufacturer or from an authorized distributor.
The easiest way to determine if the product is sourced
from the manufacturer is to ask the pharmacy if the
manufacturer guarantees the product. A manufacturer’s
guarantee is different from the guarantee that most
direct-to-consumer pharmacies may offer.
When a direct-to-consumer
pharmacy dispenses a given manufacturer’s drug that was
purchased outside the manufacturer’s authorized
distribution channel, uncertainties may arise concerning
the product’s safety, purity and effectiveness.
Veterinary drug manufacturers sell their products to
their authorized licensed distributors, licensed
pharmacies and to veterinarians. Using these legitimate,
authorized channels the manufacturers are assured that
their products are being handled properly to ensure
intended effectiveness. When a pharmacy purchases a drug
from a source other than the manufacturer or authorized
distributor, the drug is considered to be distributed in
the “gray” market.
Gray market medications may
be subject to adverse handling and storage conditions
and become ineffective as a result. Since manufacturers
don’t know how their products are handled and
distributed in the gray market channel, manufacturers
will not offer their standard guarantees on the
products. This leaves the pet owner and pet vulnerable.
The gray market channel can even allow entry of
counterfeit drugs. Filling prescriptions with pharmacies
that only purchase drugs from manufacturers or their
authorized distributors will virtually eliminate this
possibility.
There is another benefit in
filling prescriptions with a pharmacy that has a direct
purchasing relationship with veterinary drug
manufacturers. When a manufacturer must recall a drug,
such authorized pharmacies will be promptly notified of
the recall, enabling them to expeditiously contact the
clients who received the recalled drug. You hear about
large recalls that make national news, but smaller
recalls of a single lot of medication also occur. If the
pharmacy purchased the drug from the gray market that is
subsequently recalled, the pharmacy may not receive any
recall notice. A veterinarian that contacted a major
online pharmacy one week after one of the smaller
recalls was announced learned that the pharmacy was
completely unaware of the recall event. This lack of
awareness may result in medication failure and patient
illness.
With the growth in online
pharmacy, many veterinarians are choosing to augment
their pharmacies with their own home delivery strategy.
This makes sense because it allows the veterinarian to
control and monitor treatment recommendations. There are
a number of good choices for vet-sponsored home delivery
available. In all cases these pharmacies allow you to
set your prices and choose which products you would like
to offer to your clients. Home delivery services vary in
product selections and customer service options. Some
require that you bill your clients directly while others
have you open an internet merchant account. The internet
merchant account permits the third party pharmacy to
bill clients on your behalf and ensures that the
financial transaction is not viewed as unethical. In all
cases, this is a way for the veterinarian to offer more
value to the client and satisfy their desire for a home
delivery option.
Advising your pet owners
about pharmacy purchases takes a few minutes and gives
you the opportunity to show them that you care about
their pets’ health and well being. Home delivery of
veterinary pharmaceuticals is likely here to stay.
Veterinarians must be informed and help their clients
make the best possible decisions about their pets’ care. |
