WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK — MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2005 — PharmacyChecker.com announced today that a Utah-based online pharmacy — KwikMed.com — that sells medications without requiring an original prescription from the patient's doctor has achieved its highest rating. KwikMed.com is the only online prescribing website in the United States that has that has won explicit approval from a state to dispense medication based on a remote medical consultation. The online pharmacy sells only four medications, three are for erectile dysfunction — Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra — and the other is for hair loss — Propecia.
In a remote consultation, the doctor reviews a patient's self-provided medical history and, if appropriate, prescribes medication. Anonymity and convenience are the allure of remote consultation sites compared to going to the doctor for an evaluation. KwikMed.com uses advanced medical diagnostic software when evaluating patients remotely. This special process is a critical reason for it being exempt from Utah's laws that otherwise require prescriptions to be based on face-to-face doctor-patient relationships.
PharmacyChecker.com was able to verify that KwikMed.com met the five criteria needed to achieve its highest rating: KwikMed.com requires a prescription to fill orders, maintains a current pharmacy license, provides contact information on its site, publishes a privacy policy that protects personal information, and transmits financial transactions securely. In addition, PharmacyChecker.com verified the medical license of a physician that provides consultations for KwikMed.com customers.
KwikMed.com does not charge a fee for the prescribing physician, but its prices incorporate the cost of the remote consultation and are therefore generally higher than those from pharmacies that do not include the consultation and require an original prescription. Consumers can now compare KwikMed.com's prices to many other online pharmacies from Canada, U.S., and elsewhere at www.PharmacyChecker.com.
Among the 48 online pharmacies currently rated on PharmacyChecker.com, five others do not require a customer's original prescription, but none of these have achieved PharmacyChecker.com's highest rating. Three of these don't require a prescription at all (two fill prescriptions in Mexico and one in Fiji). Two others require a remote consultation and prescription but PharmacyChecker.com was unable to verify the affiliation of one with a licensed pharmacy and the other displays a non-working phone number. In addition, for these two, the medical licenses of their affiliated doctors could not be verified.
"In general, consumers should be wary of pharmacies that do not require original prescriptions from their doctors," said PharmacyChecker.com's presdient and founder, Tod Cooperman, MD. "Such pharmacies may be illegal and/or lack safeguards intended to protect a patient's health. KwikMed.com is an exception, being in compliance with legal requirements and providing essential safeguards. As with a face-to-face visit to a doctor, it is particularly important that people be truthful in the medical information they provided during a remote consultation. A false medical history can lead to an inappropriate prescription."
Visitors to www.PharmacyChecker.com can freely access pharmacy ratings, in-depth pharmacy profiles, and comparisons of recent prices on over 1,000 brand name and generic drugs. The book, PharmacyChecker.com's Guide to Low-Cost Canadian and U.S. Pharmacies, is also available and can be ordered direct from 800-431-1579. PharmacyChecker.com is privately held and based in White Plains, New York. It has no ownership in or from companies that sell or distribute pharmacy products.
