What should I know about online pharmacies? Are they really as convenient as they seem to be?

Online pharmacies tend to mislead customers and lead them to believe that they are in total control when they shop on online pharmacies. Customers might not be in total control, but online pharmacies are much more convenient.

After all, if you want to purchase some sort of medication and don't feel like standing in that long line in the drug store, you don't have to. You can order online, pay for shipping and handling fees, and receive the medication as soon as you want.

Many people shop on online pharmacies because of either embarrassment of the medication that they want to purchase (impotence, for example) or maybe because they just don't want to have an extra errand.

Because of those two main reasons, consumers shop on online pharmacies more and more often. At times, customers want to shop on online pharmacies because the medication is sometimes cheaper.

However, along with having the convenience of not going to the drug store, there is one big problem: often times, people seeking prescriptions from many of the online businesses might not be able to use their insurance to pay for their medication.

Carmen Catizone, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy claims that many online pharmacies are affiliated with only a limited network of insurance plans, unlike community drug stores. "That's been a big controversy', says Catizone.

Some virtual pharmacies have had and still have difficulty attracting HMOs and other health insurance plans, according to Catizone. Companies known as pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) often don't sign contracts with online drug stores, and that's where the problem lies.

Transactions are coordinated among the drug company, the pharmacies and the insurer by the PBMs who also administer about 85 percent of the prescription medication used by the nation's insured.

Many consumers don't know why PBMs don't want to sign contracts with internet pharmacies. What they don't know is that PBMS earn revenue by selling prescriptions by mail order, in effect competing against online pharmacies. That is the main reason why PBMs don't sign contracts with internet pharmacies.

However, keep in mind that there are going to be internet pharmacies that will accept your health insurance so if you look for those online pharmacies, you should be able to find them without hassle.

If you want to file your prescription with your mouse, make sure that you know that online pharmacies always must make sure that your prescription is authentic. A fax or e-mail of the original paper prescription to the site should be sent to them.

Some sites might also want to contact your doctor or another pharmacy for you in order to obtain your prescription. Pharmacies will also ask you to enter your insurance information the first time you submit a prescription.