Ordering medicines for home delivery: What are your options?
This time we explain how to order medicines for home delivery and what options you have, as not all products can be sold online.
In short
- In Spain it is prohibited to sell prescription medicines online.
- Non-prescription medicines can only be bought online from authorised pharmacy websites that display the common EU logo.
- Parapharmacy products (hygiene, dietary, sun protection, etc.) can be bought online as normal.
- With services such as IMA Health, a nearby pharmacy prepares your medication organised by dose and you receive it at home.
Can you imagine receiving your medical treatment at home? For many people, ordering medicines for home delivery is a great relief, whether due to lack of time or mobility problems.
It is an option that particularly benefits older people, as it saves them trips and queues at the pharmacy. Conditions such as arthritis or balance problems are just some of the examples that make their daily lives harder, reducing their independence outside the home.
It is important to make clear that at present the online sale of medication that requires a prescription is not permitted.
However, there are options that allow us to order medicines for home delivery. We explain how to do it in this blog.
If you are interested in this topic, we invite you to read our 7 tips for getting your medication organised
Which medicines can you order for home delivery?
Medicines that do not need a prescription can only be bought online from the websites of authorised pharmacies, which must display the common EU logo. Clicking on it takes you to the official list of authorised pharmacies published by each autonomous community.
However, you should bear in mind that the law prohibits selling prescription medicines online. So online you can only buy non-prescription medicines (from authorised pharmacies) and parapharmacy products.
What are parapharmacy products?
To give you an idea, the parapharmacy products (sold in parapharmacies, shops that sell health products but not prescription medicines) that you can buy online are products that are not considered medicines as such, but can be used by people under technical and health criteria based on rules and regulations.
Some examples of parapharmacy products are medical devices, dietary, optical and herbal products, oral hygiene, hair treatment, intimate hygiene and sun protection products, etc.
How do you request medicines for home delivery?
As we have explained, in Spain it is not permitted to order all types of medicines for home delivery.
However, there are alternatives available to you. One is the IMA Health service, which connects people with chronic conditions who take several medicines with nearby pharmacies so that they can manage the dispensing of medicines to their home.
This is a service that allows pharmacies to prepare and organise all of the person's medicines in order of intake, allowing them to have all their medication for the month at their door, prepared for each day.
Without a doubt, the possibility of receiving medication at home in an organised way is a great relief for the person, and above all for their family too. Simply having the medication organised for each day can save a lot of headaches.
Services of this kind are a great support in improving treatment adherence, as they make the process of taking medication much easier. They also help these people when it is time for their medication, as they do not have to worry about preparing it or waste time separating pills.
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