The Emergent Business of Internet Pharmacies: Convenience, Risks, Regulatory Policies and Future

Abstract

Healthcare is a core issue for all individuals, societies and states. There are continuous and aggressive efforts everywhere to improve healthcare conditions for people. With the rise of the World Wide Web, every sphere of life has gone through a huge revolution and so has the field of medicine. As people get more and more access to the internet, the trend to search for information related to health has also gone high. According to web data, almost 4.5% of all internet search is related to healthcare. 72% of the US and 71% of the European internet users have searched for information related to health during the past year. This is overwhelming. Mobile phone devices have further pushed this trend to new heights. But the point of caution is that internet users have started to get self-diagnosis online. Not only that, but the tendency to order medicine online has also gone up. ‘Pharmaceuticals’ is a huge part of the medicine industry. Just like any other business going online during the recent decades, the pharmacies have also gone online and against any apprehensions, they have met an overwhelming success there. There is an ever-growing number of online customers for internet pharmacies. The convenience of home delivery is always alluring and comparatively, the economical cost is an added benefit. But along this success came some serious issues forcing the authorities to enact regulations. This paper expounds on the historical development of internet pharmacies, their rapid growth during recent times, their advantages, concerns and regulatory actions to keep them under control. It also contains a bit of advice to the customers to avoid monetary and physical harm from illegal pharmacies online.