JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With nationwide medical leaders gearing up for National Pharmacy Week, they're using this time to warn patients of scams that come with online-only pharmacies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning everyone of what they call a "public health risk" from their recent findings in prescriptions ordered from online-only pharmacies.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy says 95% of websites offering prescription-only drugs online are operating illegally.
In the beginning of October, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an indictment against individuals running illegal online pharmacies after finding many of these illegal online pharmacies selling and shipping millions of unregulated, counterfeit pills.
To counter the increasing costs of medication, many patients are looking online for a better deal.
"With the cost of medicine soaring and some people having to make a tough decision, do you pay the light bill or do you buy your medication?" Florida Poison Control Center Jacksonville spokesperson Mike McCormick told First Coast News. "Are you going out to the internet to try to find cheaper ways to get drugs?"
However, the discounted medication they are ordering from online pharmacies are really counterfeit pills.
Although their low prices may look attractive, the counterfeit pills could be deadly, with some even containing fentanyl.
"In the CDC warning that just came out, they did talk about deaths associated with this," McCormick said. "Some of that is chronic pain patients that maybe they've used up all their medication and can get a doctor to prescribe it. So, again, they're going out to the internet."
McCormick says the people most at risk are the ones in need of medication that has a nationwide shortage.
"An explosion in what we call the GLP-1 receptor drug, these were drugs that were designed for other things like diabetes," McCormick said. "But, instead people have found they work really well for weight loss and we've seen celebrities out touting them. So, people have gone in and created a shortage."
Next time you're looking online for medication, make sure to find the license of the pharmacy before ordering. You can double check to see if the pharmacy is licensed in the U.S. on the FDA's website here.