FDA urges caution when buying pet meds online
Unapproved, expired products sold on some sites, agency says.
Do you buy medications for your pet online to save money or for convenience? Watch out, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
While there are internet sites that represent legitimate pharmacies, there are others that sell unapproved pet drugs and counterfeit pet products, make fraudulent claims, dispense prescription drugs without requiring a prescription, and sell expired drugs, the FDA says.
Any of these practices could mean that the products you are buying could be unsafe or ineffective for your pet. In general, the FDA regulates the manufacture and distribution of animal drugs, while individual state pharmacy boards regulate the dispensing of prescription veterinary products.
If you are ordering pet medications online, you should look closely to ensure that you’re ordering from a reputable pharmacy, says Martine Hartogensis, DVM, deputy director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
Protecting yourself and your pet requires awareness of the importance of involving a veterinarian even when ordering online.
If an online pharmacy does not require a prescription from a veterinarian before filling any order for prescription drugs, that’s a red flag.
Here are some other things to consider when looking at sites offering pet medications:
Look for pharmacy websites ending in “.Pharmacy.” You may be used to looking for the VetVIPPS seal on your pharmacy’s website. But as of August, that no longer holds true. Instead, you should look for pharmacy websites ending in “.Pharmacy.”
Under the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy new Pharmacy Verified Websites Program, pharmacies must meet strict standards for enrollment.
Once accepted, they are given “.Pharmacy” website addresses to help you quickly identify trustworthy, worldwide online pharmacies and pharmacy-related websites.
Order from an outsourced prescription management service that your veterinarian uses. These state-licensed Internet pharmacy services work directly with the veterinarian, require that a prescription is written by the veterinarian, and support the veterinarian-client-patient relationship.