There is a current struggle against the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and the online pharmacy business that has bloomed in recent years. The FDA has found it increasingly difficult to get online pharmacies to abide by standards and laws that are present in the Unites States. There are, however, safe ways to get FDA approved medication online.

What Online FDA Approved Medication Requires

In order for an online website to legally sell prescription drugs, they must abide by certain rules. First, the website must have a physician on hand who can prescribe the requested medication. In some cases physicians are needed to check a patient's history, ask critical questions, and inform them of side effects. Without this extra input by a real physician, the FDA claims that websites will not be able to sell prescription drugs.

Over 200 websites have been legally permitted to do this, but don't be fooled. There are some websites that claim a simple online survey can replace a physician. Not only this illegal, but this is far from the truth. While a survey may be able to help diagnose a patient, surveys are limited in gathering knowledge about a patient. For this reason, the FDA claims that these survey websites can't legally replace a real physician.

These precautions, the FDA states, save hundreds of lives per year. As an example with Viagra, there are critical side effects that may lead to death if certain conditions are present. Viagra is a prescription drug for a reason- only a doctor will be able to run necessary tests and ask the right questions.

Legalities of Imported Prescriptions

The FDA is also fighting an uphill battle over foreign imports on prescription drugs. In the majority of cases, Internet users resort to foreign sources to get prescription drugs. This has led to a wide array of complications- as the FDA will not be able to screen the imports to ensure safety.

The FDA has declared these imports as illegal. It is officially illegal to buy or import prescription drugs from a foreign source. In some special situations, the FDA allows loopholes; but don't expect to legally import prescription drugs from foreign sources.

Interestingly enough, it is also illegal for the foreign pharmacies to sell such drugs to American patients. Although it's quite hard for the FDA to enforce this law in another country, it is still considered to be wrong. As statistics show, illegal online pharmacies in the United States itself get prosecuted much more often- as well as United States companies that help import the foreign prescription drugs.

Final Thoughts on the FDA and Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs require doctor approval for special reasons. Bypassing this safety measure means that a certain amount of risk is going to be run when taking the drug. The appeal of online privacy can still be had, although conferencing with an online physician will be required.

The quality of imported drugs has also be sub par leading many patients to be cheated out of their money. Many people claim that foreign imports are cheaper- but if they quality of the drug isn't up to par, then the customer is getting cheated more so than usual. To avoid such turmoil and frustration, and to stay out of the watchful eye of the United States Food and Drug Administration, be sure to stick to physician-based websites.