Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between LegitScript Internet pharmacy verification standards and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's VIPPS program?

LegitScript strongly supports the NABP’s Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program. We encourage any Internet pharmacy that meets our standards to consider acquiring VIPPS accreditation. Additionally, LegitScript urges consumers who want to fill prescriptions with an Internet pharmacy to choose a VIPPS-accredited pharmacy website whenever possible.

LegitScript’s Internet pharmacy verification standards have been recognized by the NABP, and there is some commonality between the program standards, but the programs are not identical. LegitScript’s standards were designed by LegitScript to ensure that a pharmacy website conforms to basic requirements of law and safety as we understand those requirements. VIPPS-accredited pharmacies have undergone a more rigorous and comprehensive review process, and in LegitScript’s view, VIPPS-accredited pharmacy websites provide the highest level of assurance currently available that a pharmacy website is safe and legitimate.

Another difference is that LegitScript verification is currently free, whereas there is a cost for VIPPS accreditation. For this reason, LegitScript aims to provide a full and complete listing of all legitimate Internet pharmacies operating in the United States.

More information about the NABP’s VIPPS accreditation program is available at the NABP website.

I disagree with the classification of a pharmacy website. What should I do?

We do our best to correctly determine whether a pharmacy website meets our standards. We welcome additional information about a website, and are willing to reconsider any determination that a pharmacy website does or does not meet our standards. Please contact us through our contact page.

What is an Internet pharmacy? And what’s the difference between an “Internet pharmacy,” “online pharmacy” and “pharmacy website”?

There isn’t any formal definition of “Internet pharmacy” or “online pharmacy.”

LegitScript thinks of “Internet pharmacy” as a pharmacy that conducts all, or nearly all, of its business over the Internet.

An “online pharmacy,” by contrast, includes Internet pharmacies and any pharmacy website connected to a physical, brick-and-mortar pharmacy, and that offers some sort of interactive online service for filling or refilling prescriptions. The online pharmacy may conduct all, some, or a little of its business over the Internet.

A “pharmacy website” is the broadest category: it includes “Internet pharmacies,” “online pharmacies,” and any website that provides information about a pharmacy – even if it just provides an address and phone number.

LegitScript reviews and approves the operations of Internet pharmacies and online pharmacies. Usually, we do not review pharmacy websites that simply provide contact information and lack an interactive feature for filling or refilling prescriptions.

What's the big deal about online pharmacies?

Online pharmacies, on the one hand, offer additional convenience and often lower costs to consumers – the legitimate ones, that is.

On the other hand, LegitScript’s database includes thousands of pharmacy websites that do not meet our standards; many of these are what we call a “rogue” Internet pharmacy.

What is a “rogue” Internet pharmacy – and are all of your unapproved pharmacies “rogue” internet pharmacies?

LegitScript has a database of thousands of pharmacy websites that do not meet our standards. Many (most, actually) of these meet our definition of a “rogue” Internet pharmacy. We define a “rogue” Internet pharmacy as one that intentionally or knowingly:

1. violates, appears to violate, or encourages violation of Federal or state law or regulations;
2. does not adhere to accepted standards of medicine and/or pharmacy practice, including standards of safety; and/or
3. engages in fraudulent or deceptive business practices.

If a pharmacy website is unapproved but not listed as a “rogue” pharmacy, that means that LegitScript has verified that the pharmacy website doesn’t meet our standards and we cannot recommend it.

Why are some of your pharmacy websites listed as “unverified”?

An unverified listing is a purely neutral descriptor: it means that we are still reviewing the pharmacy website, and haven’t reached a conclusion yet as to the website’s legitimacy. It doesn’t mean that the pharmacy website is a legitimate one, but it definitely doesn’t mean that it isn’t legitimate. We just haven’t finished our review.

Do you have any information about the pharmacy website? “Report it”: /pharmacies/report to us! We’d be glad to hear whatever information you have.

Shouldn't people be able to tell when a site is illegitimate just by looking at it? Why do we need this list?

“Rogue” Internet pharmacies love to announce themselves as “legitimate,” “approved,” “verified,” when in fact they may only be engaging in false advertising. LegitScript’s pharmacy website verification standards are recognized by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. We use this to determine which, of the thousands of pharmacy websites, are legitimate and which are not.

If the rogue Internet pharmacies are so bad/dangerous why isn't anyone (the government, search engines, pharmaceutical companies) doing anything about it?

Actually, the government is trying to do something about the rogue Internet pharmacy problem. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has made it a priority, but unfortunately, the DEA only has jurisdiction over certain drugs called “controlled substances.” The Food and Drug Administration, and the State Boards of Pharmacy, are left to deal with the thousands of rogue Internet pharmacies – and LegitScript estimates that there are more rogue Internet pharmacies than there are investigators to deal with the problem!

That’s one reason LegitScript was created – to help you be proactive in protecting yourself, and choosing a legitimate online pharmacy.

Who controls what kind of pharmacies can advertise? Why don't they just block these guys?

Google, Yahoo! and Live (MSN) do require third party verification for participation in their online advertising programs (the ads at the top and right side of the page when you do a search). However, numerous unapproved pharmacies, including rogue Internet pharmacies, continue to advertise through these services.

Search engines generally consider the search results themselves “off-limits” in order to protect freedom of speech. However, domain registrars’ User Agreements usually contain a contractual clause requiring websites to act lawfully. LegitScript urges domain registrars to “take down” rogue Internet pharmacy websites in accordance with those agreements.

I only order from pharmacies I know and trust, what does your site have to do with me?

If you are already using an online pharmacy on our legitimate pharmacies list, congratulations! However, you may want to compare your current pharmacy with others on our list to see if there is one that is even more convenient.

And, if your pharmacy is not on our approved list, please contact us to ask why.

Aren't there some drugs that you don't really need a physical examination to get? My doctor has prescribed over the phone to me before.

It’s perfectly okay for your doctor to prescribe to you over the phone IF you have a pre-existing relationship with that doctor, and he or she has physically examined you before. In the United States, a prescription is only “valid” if it is based on a legitimate “doctor-patient” relationship, and in virtually all cases, that requires that the doctor know you from at least one in-person visit. We do have a name for drugs that don’t require that a physical examination have occurred: “over the counter drugs.” If it’s a prescription drug, that means a valid prescription is required, and that means you shouldn’t trust a doctor who has never laid eyes on you.

But the Internet pharmacy I went to said that an “online consultation” with the doctor is a “recent innovation in health care” and is just as safe!

“Online consultations” are almost always a substandard, and potentially dangerous, practice designed to make money for Internet pharmacies. Here’s how it works:

• The online pharmacy presents you with a questionnaire, telling you that a doctor will review it.
• In many cases, there is no doctor on the other end – it is a sham.
• If there is a doctor on the other end, most websites pay the doctor a certain amount of money for each questionnaire they review – and they may review several online forms a minute!
• The cost of the “online consultation” is passed on to you, the consumer.

Here’s why this is unsafe:

• By definition, prescription drugs are designated as such because a physical examination is usually required.
• Example: Viagra shouldn’t be prescribed for somebody with certain heart conditions, and erectile dysfunction could be a result of prostate cancer. It is not possible to test for these conditions without an in-person examination, which could save a person’s life.

(Caveat: Online consultations are legal in one state, Utah, in extremely limited circumstances; however, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and Federation of State Medical Boards have both indicated that even this exception does not involve the safe and legitimate practice of medicine or pharmacy. Additionally, there are other extremely limited circumstances called “telemedicine” that involve, for example, doctors viewing a patient over a remote video camera, but no unapproved pharmacy websites fall into this category.)

Don’t most people just go to their local pharmacies anyway? How many people are really using online pharmacies for the right reasons to begin with?

Some government data – the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, to be precise – indicates that about 1% of the 3.9 billion prescriptions filled each year are filled online. However, those are probably all legitimate online pharmacies, and that number likely does not include rogue Internet pharmacies – a multi-billion dollar business. We think it’s great if people go to their local, brick-and-mortar pharmacy! It’s very important to be able to consult with a pharmacist in person, and online pharmacies are not for everybody. However, online pharmacies, if they are safe and legitimate, can offer an added convenience, especially if you are just seeking to refill an existing prescription online.

So you have a list of the good guys and the bad guys. How is that really going to make a big impact?

That starts with you. Choose to use a “legitimate online pharmacy”:/pharmacies, not an “unapproved”:/unapproved one. But we’re also working with companies in the Internet and pharmaceutical sector to make sure that they only do business with the legitimate companies on our list. By denying the “rogue” Internet pharmacies of customers (like you!), and making sure that they can’t do business with legitimate companies, we think that LegitScript can make a difference in this problem.

What are the different classifications of pharmacy websites available through LegitScript.com?

Within our system, we have separated pharmacies into three groups:

1. Legitimate. These are pharmacy websites that meet LegitScript standards. 
2. Unverified. These are pharmacy websites that we are aware of, but have not had an opportunity to fully review. 
3. Unapproved. These are pharmacy websites that LegitScript has reviewed, and determined do not meet our standards.

Why shouldn't I order from a Canadian (or other foreign) Internet pharmacy?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that in nearly all cases, imports of prescription drugs from pharmacies located outside of the United States will violate federal law.

Additionally, pharmacies located in other countries are subject to different safety and legal requirements than pharmacies located in the United States.

For a more detailed discussion, please see Your Health and Safety.

How does LegitScript determine that an Internet pharmacy has met LegitScript standards?

Some of the information is apparent on the website. Other information is acquired from State Boards of Pharmacy, or from the pharmacy directly.

Sometimes, we conduct “test buys” to determine, for example, whether the pharmacy website is selling prescription drugs without a prescription, selling drugs of abuse to children, or selling counterfeit drugs from China, India, Turkey or other countries. (This is a problem with some “Canadian” Internet pharmacies.)

More information about the standards we use to determine Internet pharmacy legitimacy is available here.