Purchasing pet meds online is a pretty straightforward thing. However, there might be certain dangers associated with it. Some time back, the FDA (Food drug and Administration) issued an alert about ordering medications for a pet online. The main area of concern was flea and tick control products. Mostly, online sources were found to be selling a repackaged product that was near or beyond the expiration date. Another problem that one had to face was that some of the products that originated in foreign countries were repackaged using the English language but dosed using their metric system. But besides all this, you can still get good quality pet meds without shelling out a lot of money.
Ways to save on pet medications
If one wants to save money and buy genuine pet meds at affordable rates, they should follow the below mentioned tips:
- Make sure that your vet is willing to write prescriptions that would let you buy medication elsewhere and not from only one store or portal. If they don’t allow that, consider finding another vet.
- If your pet needs medication for prevention of any long-term chronic condition, ask the vet for a prescription medication that can be found at a less expensive online or offline outlet. The vet can also suggest some places where you can find the same prescription at a lower cost.
- Ask your vet if there is a less expensive human drug equivalent for your pet. If you can find this information from the vet, then the price of prescription would definitely reduce by a significant amount.
- If the same medicine is used to treat humans, shopping around would be a nice option. Try calling local drugstores or visit their websites to compare prices so that you get a right deal. Do not overlook the discount drug card programs offered by many retailers as well as some authentic sites. Many of these online stores cover both pet meds as well as human medications, so they could be more trustworthy and affordable at the same time.
- If you are choosing to buy pet meds online then visit only those sites that are accredited by Vet-VIPPS (Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) pharmacies. This is a program run by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. These sites are very authentic and even match the federal and state licensing requirements and quality assurance.
- The best option would be to shop from where your vet shops. Ask him or her if they use a state-licensed pharmacy for the purchase of pet meds for their shop. Such services are often more reliable and trustworthy than other services. However, one is free to choose other shops wherein they feel comfortable.
Beware of entities that sell unapproved pet drugs, fake pet products, make fraudulent claims, sell prescription drugs without requiring a prescription, or even sell drugs beyond their expiration date. Follow the above mentioned steps, and you will definitely find a good deal.
