Filling prescriptions in Canada

Is it possible for Americans to order prescription drugs from online Canadian pharmacies?

Yes, and a lot of US citizens cherish this opportunity. There is nothing difficult about this issue. The procedure is quite the same as with ordinary pharmacies. To fill prescriptions online in Canada, a person has to, actually, own it, the prescription. It must be valid for a period of no more than 90 days and require a maximum of three refills.

Canadian online pharmacies, you refer to, should carry out the obligatory transfer of the prescription to a Canadian practitioner for its further reconsideration and making the decision. If the online drugstore offers to buy meds, those which normally imply prescriptions, over-the-counter, one has to be careful and better not cooperate with such a company. Those might be fraudsters.

Important Features of Filling Prescriptions In Canada

Today, the pricing for meds in America and Canada can vary crucially. And, no wonder, that such an interesting issue as getting prescriptions filled in Canada is of interest for so many people. Most of all, this applies to those who have long-lasting problems with health and ought to buy medications on a regular basis. It produces a tangible impact on their financial well-being.

That is why many of them try to find the best way out of this situation. One of the possible solutions to this issue many consider filling prescriptions in Canada, where the prices for definite medicines can drastically differ from the US analogs in a better for the user way.

A lot of people have heard of such a possibility but the vast majority of them have unanswered questions that bother them. What is the procedure itself? Is it legal? Am I breaking the law? Am I going to become the victim of a fraudster? These are important questions and the material below is intended to help you figure everything out.

Do the US doctors have a right to transfer prescriptions to Canada?

American doctors do have the right to transfer a prescription to Canadian pharmacy and they do it quite often. Though this process is not as easy as it might seem to be. Under the state regulations, the pharmacy cannot simply complete the request.

To do so, there has to be an authorized doctor who will give their prescription instead. When the drugstore of Canada receives the prescription from the American citizen, it refers to a Canadian physician to review and analyze it, and only after their decision a drugstore can complete the order.

As one can guess to accomplish this analysis, a therapist also needs a patient’s health history to give an accurate answer about the relevance of the requested drug and its dosage. The original prescription in conjunction with a health history has to be sent via email or fax by the person themselves or by the therapist on their behalf to the licensed drugstores for the endeavor to be successful.

What is the process of the prescriptions sending from the US pharmacy to the Canadian one?

As for American pharmacies, they, in most cases, do not hand over the prescription to their Canadian counterparts. In order for a pharmacy in Canada to receive a prescription, Americans must send it themselves or ask their doctor to do it.

This issue has to be explained in detail. Under federal law, US pharmacies should not send the prescriptions to non-American drugstores. Such an action is considered to be illegal and breaking the regulations applied to this problem. However, there is a small loophole here. Namely, the pharmacies of America have the right to transfer prescriptions for medicines to other countries but only those ones which are not under control and only in some understated cases.

Here are a few interesting facts about Texan pharmacies. They can absolutely legally fill and refill the prescriptions for not controlled meds made by Canadian and Mexican health-care providers. Though it is possible to do only inside the state, meaning only between the drugstores of Texas.

What obligations should the American and Canadian sides fulfill when transferring a prescription?

In order not to break the law and to do everything correctly, one, while ordering the medication from a Canadian pharmacy, has to be aware of all the rules according to which this procedure takes place. So, here they are:

  • There has to be a valid prescription from the US physician. It should contain the necessary details, such as the medicine name, dosage, intended period of usage, and, obligatory, the name of a doctor.
  • To obtain the med from a drugstore in Canada, one ought to send them the health history of a patient for the Canadian health-care provider to check it and make conclusions on the possible refills.
  • A person must hand over the prescription themselves or ask their doctor to assist. The pharmacies of the USA are not permitted to transfer such information to their Canadian colleagues. In most cases, it will be considered a violation of federal law. That is why one will unlikely succeed if asks their pharmacist to send the drug prescription to Canada.

FAQ

How can I refill my prescription for meds from the US doctor in Canada?
If you want your prescriptions to be filled in Canada, they must be valid, first of all. No frauding is allowed. And practically, this the “most hard” part. Further, choose Canadian drugstore. This can be both an ordinary or online pharmacy because later on, the procedure is exactly the same. Send the prescription itself and add your health history. Canadian drugstores demand that since they have to transfer this information to the Canadian practitioner. Then, they evaluate all the data and give their prescriptions instead. According to this very Canadian variant of prescription, the pharmacy is legit to complete the order and send you the medicine.

Can I get the prescription filled in Canada not for myself but for another person?
If you are a parent or a guardian, you definitely can accomplish this task. But, be ready to be asked the additional questions for the pharmaceutical institution to make sure there is no frauding going to happen, that you are responsible for this person and he/she really needs the requested medication.

If I am on vacation in the USA, can I have my prescription filled?
If your physician does not have a license to operate in the USA, most likely, you will be denied. If you’ve found yourself in the situation where you are run of the medicine you crucially need, the only way out is to consult the local doctor and ask them to write a new prescription. Normally, for this, you will be asked to be fully examined and take all the possible laboratory tests. Soon after, a therapist will give you the prescription which you will able to fill in the nearest drugstore. If you happened to be a citizen of Canada or Mexico and you are on vacation in the state of Texas, there will be no such problem since those pharmacies have the permission to fill and refill the prescriptions for the non-controlled substances from the Canadian practitioner and Mexican doctors.

Are there medications that go only with a prescription in the USA but do not imply one in Canada?
In fact, yes, there are a few medications that are sold under different conditions in those two countries, according to the users of the well-known portal Quora. Among the named substances, these drugs have been named:

  • Voltaren (an analgesic ointment that helps cope with muscle pain and partial muscle strain). One of the users claims it is being sold for $7 over-the-counter in Canada but in the USA it costs $65 for a prescription.
  • Polysporin Eye Drops (for pink eye). The Canadian price is $15-20, the American is $50 with a prescription.
  • Robaxacet (mild muscle painkiller). It is not available to buy without US prescriptions in America but goes straight off the shelf in Canada.

Is it legal to buy prescription meds over the counter in Canada?
It may happen that health care organizations of Canada and America have different opinions on the importance and dangerousness of various drugs. And, in this case, confusion and misunderstanding are possible. But, there are serious meds with significant side effects and a definite way of application that have to be considered only by a therapist when prescribing the drug. If you are going to buy the medications of such a kind without a prescription in Canadian pharmacy, it is not only illegal but highly dangerous for your health and well-being.

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