Starting today: buy medicine online

Photo: Postimees.ee

Today, Estonia’s first Internet Pharmacy «opens doors», allowing for medicaments and health products to be purchased without leaving home. This is the best of news for those living far from pharmacies or sick at home, needing medicaments to be brought to their doorstep.

The sole difference with a classic drugstore being: in an Internet Pharmacy, pharmacist and client do not communicate at a counter – this is done over the Web; a courier will then fetch and carry the items. «In all else, the same principles and requirements apply to sales of medicaments over Internet,» assured Gert Klaasen, inspections head at State Agency of Medicines. 

As an ordinary pharmacy, a licensed e-pharmacy needs to ensure that medicines are stored and issued, and customers consulted as required. Thus, clients may contact dispensing chemists and pharmacists, over the Web, to ask for health advice.

To the purchasing price of medicaments, delivery costs are added according to the means thereof (courier or automated parcel terminal), not depending on location of residence nor amount of medicaments purchased. Pursuant to law, the items purchased need to be delivered within three working days – be it the furthermost corner of Estonia. As a rule, the medicaments purchased cannot be returned. 

Since April 27^th, 2013, internet pharmacies may be opened by all licensed drugstores. The first such license by State Agency of Medicines was, at the end of October, issued to Terve Pere Apteek OÜ’s (trademarked Apotheka) Mustamäe pharmacy, having filed for the permit on April 30^th.

According to Kadri Tammepuu, head of Terve Pere Apteek OÜ, developing of the internet pharmacy has been a time-consuming endeavour. «Being the first in Estonia, there was no-one to model ourselves after; thus, in cooperation with State Agency of Medicines, we developed a high level secure environment for the Estonian market; going over the details took time,» admitted Ms Tammepuu. «But then: now, we may truly say that by quality the internet pharmacy equals the ordinary one, as prescribed by law; yet, it’s much more convenient.»

From the Apotheka internet pharmacy, over-the-counter and prescription medicines may be purchased (except narcotic and psychotherapeutic medicine, and anabolic steroids); over-the-counter medicines for animals and health & beauty products are also available. For prescription medicines, digital prescriptions are needed.

On July 29^th, application for distance selling of medicines was also filed by OÜ Valga Apteek; according to Mr Klaasen, the procedures are suspended until deficiencies are being rectified. So far, these are the only applications; however, numerous pharmacies are planning to file their papers in near future.