People are becoming more and more practical in the way they spend money. We always try to look for ways to save as much money as we can. This is the reason why there are stores coming out left and right selling clothes at discounted prices, fast food chains being set up selling huge servings of food at low prices as compared to home-cooked meals, and most recently drugstores setting up shop on the Internet selling prescription medications at very cheap prices. But are they safe?

A lot of people want to know where to buy cheap medicine online. Senior citizens need it because most health care plans do not cover the cost of medication. People who live in tight budget could use the savings to help them with other expenses. In both cases, the extra money saved in the cost of the prescription will help them a lot.

But with the thousands of Internet pharmacies currently in operation, how can you distinguish a good online drugstore from a bad one. Here are some things to watch out for:

?A good Internet-based drugstore is licensed by your local pharmacy board to operate in and/or sell medications to your state. Every pharmacy, be it land-based or on the web, needs to be inspected and certified by the local board before they can start selling medicines.

?A legal pharmacy doing business in the World Wide Web should be accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy or NABP. This means that they have passed the organization's inspection and have met the necessary standards required from an online drugstore. Also, being accredited by the NABP means that the web-based drugstore company is a part of the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites or VIPPS.

?An honest Internet pharmacy should ask you for a proper prescription before they sell you medications. This is in accordance to pharmacy policies that prescription drugs can only be dispensed to people with prescription notes. The prescription note serves as a confirmation that a buyer had sought the consult of a physician and was indeed endorsed to take the prescription drug he wants to buy.

?In cases of online pharmacies that do not require a prescription note, some of them offer an online consultation service with a licensed doctor through voice chatting and webcam. This is beneficial to people who are unable to leave home to see a doctor. But customers must be cautious in dealing with web-based drugstores that offer to sell prescription medicines without requiring a prescription or offering a consult service, this may be an indication that the drugstore company is illegal.

?An Internet drugstore that does not hide anything from its consumers will not hide its stand on protecting your privacy. Look for an online pharmacy that has a clear privacy procedure to protect all the information you submit to their website.

To protect your privacy and your health, do not make transactions with online pharmacy websites that you feel are suspicious. Contact your local pharmacy board to report these kinds of companies to protect your rights as a consumer.