June 2, 2015
A recent survey by the International Association of Licensed Online Pharmacies (IALOP) involving around 2,700 American customers revealed a growing need for safely buying prescription drugs online from licensed Canadian pharmacies. Around 64% of the people surveyed said they buy some or all of their regular medicines from a pharmacy outside the U.S. because it's too expensive to get the prescriptions filled in the U.S. Another 22% mentioned their medicines aren't covered by their insurance plan.
There have been lots of news stories and independent studies about how medication prices are going up a lot and how hard it is for Americans to afford their prescriptions. In fact, 25% of the people surveyed said someone in their home couldn't get their prescriptions filled last year because they didn't have enough money. Around 30% reported they had to miss doses, cut pills in half, or do similar things to use less of their prescribed medicines because they're too expensive.
Customers said they spend an average of $250 per month for each prescription to order a 90-day supply of prescription medicines for their own use. They also said they save around $246 (or 50 percent) per month by getting their medicines from Canadian pharmacies.
Americans not only save money by buying prescriptions from Canada, but they also say they would face serious health problems without this option. About 32% say they would only be able to buy some medicines. Another 11% would not be able to buy any of their medicines. Previous reports have talked about how harmful it is for patients to stop taking their medicines or use less of them, along with how much this costs the health care system. Furthermore, because many people who get their medicines from Canada are older people on Medicare, not taking medicines as prescribed and the resulting health problems and costs are a problem for the American taxpayer.
Most of the people surveyed (86%) said they were 55 years old or older. Also, 57% said they pay for their health insurance themselves and that they have to cover the full costs of their medicines.
IALOP is a group of licensed pharmacies that sell 90-day supplies of drugs and regular medicines (but not controlled substances) to Canadians and Americans with a valid prescription. IALOP pharmacies offer a safe and reliable way to order regular medicines online. Pharmacies in good standing with IALOP can show the IALOP check mark on their website.
Since IALOP was started in 2015, IALOP pharmacies have helped over 10 million U.S. patients and have always had a perfect safety record. The IALOP check mark shows a pharmacy follows good practices, such as: needing a valid prescription for each order, which is checked with the patient's doctor; good quality controls; being open about the pharmacy with contact information on their website; and keeping patient's personal information private and confidential.
"Getting prescriptions from safe international pharmacies is the only choice many Americans have to afford their prescribed medicines," said Tim Smith, the general manager of IALOP. "IALOP pharmacies offer a safe option for Americans with fixed incomes to take their regular medicines to take care of their health."
Customers can go to the IALOP website (www.IALOP.com) to learn more about the association, how to safely order medicines online, and how to check if an online pharmacy is truly a member of IALOP.