Over the past several years, there has been a great deal of publicity about the number of U.S. citizens who are turning to Canada and other countries to save money on their prescription drugs. However, many seniors and other Americans who have little or no insurance and would like to use this option to save money on their medications have hesitated to do so because of the confusion and misinformation about the safety and legality of doing so. This Summary is intended to provide accurate information about legality and safety of ordering prescription drugs online. It also provides you with information regarding our key policies and an outline of the order process.
New Options for Ordering Your Prescription Drugs
Currently, in an attempt to stop cross-border sales from Canada, major pharmaceutical manufacturers have restricted sales of their products to mail order pharmacies in Canada, that serve U.S. citizens – resulting in artificial shortages, delays in filling orders and higher prices. As a result, we have taken steps to provide you with new options so you can continue to obtain safe, lower cost medications from outside the U.S. After a thorough review, Our Canadian Pharmacies and CanUSAmeds are pleased to offer you the option of purchasing your medications from Britain (also known as the United Kingdom or UK), by using Our Canadian Pharmacies and CanUSAmeds as your agents.
This is one of several new overseas options in our continuing efforts to provide you with the best possible price for safe, high quality medications.
Savings
Why are drugs cheaper in Canada and other countries? The governments of Canada, Great Britain and other “first-world” countries have price controls on medications. The U.S. government does not have price controls. How much does an individual save by buying prescriptions from Canada or Great Britain? The range of savings per drug may be anywhere from 15% to 80% on a drug by drug basis. The average savings for popular drugs like Lipitor, Fosamax, and Celebrex, is 30 to 50%. Customers are encouraged to obtain their prescriptions for a 90 day supply, with 3 refills, since this will result in the greatest savings. By doing so, you only pay the shipping charge once every 3 months. However, orders can still be placed for less than a 90-day supply if the quantity requested matches the package size for that drug. (By FDA regulation, prescriptions cannot be filled for more than a 3-month supply on any given order.)
Availability
Not all drugs that are available in the U.S. are available in Canada or Great Britain. Additionally, while the same drug may be available in Canada or other selected countries, it may not come in all the same strengths. In some cases, there may be a delay before a newly introduced drug in the U.S. becomes available in Canada or other countries. Additionally, reputable online pharmacies, including Our Canadian Pharmacies, will not fill prescriptions for narcotics or controlled substances. These are however available from our U.S. Pharmacy Partners with the receipt of an ORIGINAL prescription.
Safety & Quality
Canadian and British pharmacies are regulated just as strictly as U.S. pharmacies, and have exceptionally high standards for drug manufacturing, distribution and sale. Health Canada (the counterpart in Canada to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration) oversees Canada’s strict regulatory environment, with specific regulatory authority delegated to each provincial government. In the case of Our Canadian Pharmacies (Alberta, Canada License No. 1636), licenses are issued and regulated by the Alberta College of Pharmacists. Recently, at the request of members of the U.S. Congress, the Congressional Research Service completed an analysis that confirmed that the Canadian prescription drug regulatory system is substantially equivalent to that of the United States in all material respects. In addition, the generic drugs used by millions of Canadian and British citizens are subject to the same strict approval process as brand name drugs. In Britain, The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”), a division of the British Dept. of Health, is responsible for administering the systems by which licenses to manufacture, market, distribute sell and supply prescription drugs are granted. The British Royal Pharmacy Board licenses pharmacies and pharmacists in the UK. Further safety precautions abound. Moreover, many of the drugs sold are in fact manufactured in the same plants that manufacture the drugs sold in the U.S. Anyone ordering prescription drugs from Canada, Great Britain or other selected countries should be aware that the pharmacies and pharmacists who fill the prescriptions, as well as the physicians who review the prescriptions, although fully licensed in their respective countries, are not licensed in the U.S.
Legality; Pending Legislation
The federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (“Act”) currently prohibits the re-importation of prescription drugs into the United States by anyone other than the original manufacturer. The Act makes no distinction between individuals and corporations or other commercial entities. Under current law, it is true that individuals who purchase prescription drugs from sources outside the U.S., and either import or reimport into the U.S., are in violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. However, it is also true that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Customs Department, for a number of reasons, have intentionally chosen not to enforce the law – so long as it is an individual (as opposed to a corporation or commercial entity) that is obtaining prescription drugs from a licensed pharmacy outside the U.S.
There are currently efforts under way in the United States Congress to change the law and make it completely legal for individuals to buy their medications from Canada and other countries. There is a substantial amount of bi-partisan support in Congress for this change to the Act. Meanwhile, there is no indication of any kind that the federal government is considering any change in its policy of “non-enforcement” regarding the re-importation of prescription drugs by individuals. In fact, the FDA in recent testimony before Congress clearly stated that it will not move to stop individuals from ordering drugs from Canada, and further, that the U.S. Customs Dept. will not “shut down the border”.
CANUSAMEDS BELIEVES THAT THE FACTS ABOUT THE LEGALITY OF ORDERING DRUGS FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S. SHOULD BE FULLY DISCLOSED TO ITS CUSTOMERS. FURTHERMORE, CANUSAMEDS ROUTINELY ADVISES PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS THAT THEY SHOULD CONSIDER PURCHASING PRESCRIPTIONS FROM CANADA (OR ELSEWHERE) ONLY IF THEY ARE COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE DOING SO.
CanUSAmeds.com
CanUSAmeds is located near Chicago, Illinois and is affiliated with Our Canadian Pharmacies, a licensed Canadian pharmacy located in Calgary, Alberta – License No. 1636. CanUSAmeds currently has 2,500 customers. All brand name and generic prescription drugs filled by Extended Care Pharmacy are approved by Health Canada (the equivalent of the FDA here in the U.S.), which are then filled by Extended Care and mailed directly to the customer’s home. Unlike most Canadian prescription drug services, CanUSAmeds accepts certified checks and money orders, in addition to MasterCard and VISA. CanUSAmeds does not charge a membership fee, and there are no hidden fees. The customer pays only the “published” price in effect on the date the order is processed by Extended Care, plus a flat shipping charge of $9.95. By ordering through CanUSAmeds, the customer also gets a U.S. point-of-contact and a full-service staff dedicated to providing the best customer service in the industry.
Customers who are able to use a credit card are encouraged to do so, since the use of a money order or certified check may add several days to the order processing time, especially with respect to refills.]
CanUSAmeds Mission Statement
CanUSAmeds objective is to provide outstanding personalized service for a safe, reliable, “senior-friendly”, honest and highly price-competitive source for prescription drug purchases from Canada, Great Britain and other selected countries.
CanUSAmeds is committed to providing the best customer service in the industry, and pledges to continually evaluate its performance and policies against this standard.
CanUSAmeds Privacy Policy
CanUSAmeds, Our Canadian Pharmacies and other approved, licensed pharmacies in selected countries maintain the highest professional and ethical standards regarding the confidentiality of customer information. CanUSAmeds, Our Canadian Pharmacies and other participating pharmacies will not release or otherwise share any information received from the customer with any other persons or entities, other than the reviewing licensed physician, the customer for whom the order is being placed or the U.S. physician who prescribed the medications ordered without the express written consent of the customer. CanUSAmeds complies with all applicable federal HIPAA health information privacy rules.
How the Order Process Works
The customer must have a prescription from a licensed U.S. Physician
Orders can be placed in 3 different ways:
By using a computer to access CanUSAmeds’s website and place the order “online”
(Note: This option is available only if the customer uses a credit card, and all prescriptions must still be either faxed or mailed to CanUSAmeds.com)
By mail to CanUSAmeds.com
By fax to CanUSAmeds.com @ 1-877-469-7171
In addition to his or her prescriptions, the customer needs to obtain, fill out and forward the following forms to CanUSAmeds. SEPARATELY COMPLETED AND SIGNED FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR EACH PERSON SUBMITTING PRESCRIPTIONS, INCLUDING HUSBANDS AND WIVES.
Patient Medical Profile (required to fill out only once)
Customer Agreement (also required to fill out only once)
Upon receipt by CanUSAmeds, orders are checked to make sure that all of the required information has been received and, if a Certified check or money order is being used, to make sure the check amount is correct for the drugs being ordered, strengths, number of days supply, etc. The order is then forwarded to One of our Canadian Pharmacies in Calgary, Alberta.
On initial orders for new prescriptions, a licensed Canadian (or other selected country) doctor reviews the prescriptions and the patient’s medical profile, co-signs the prescriptions to make them valid in Canada (or other selected country), and sends them back to the pharmacy. Refills do not require review by the Canadian (or other selected country) doctor.
Our Canadian Pharmacies (or the approved, licensed pharmacy in a selected country other than Canada) then fills the prescriptions and mails them directly to the customer.
Whenever U.S.-approved generic versions of brand name drugs are available, the general policy of Our Canadian Pharmacies is to automatically substitute the generic version in order to maximize the customer’s savings. However, either the U.S. physician or the customer can specify on a drug-by-drug basis that no substitution is allowed.
Our Canadian Pharmacies will automatically send the customer a 90-day supply (so long as the number of refills specified is sufficient).
DELIVERY. Initial orders for new prescriptions are generally delivered between 14 and 21 daysafter a complete order has been received by the pharmacy. Refills are generally delivered in approximately 10 to 14 days. However, if new prescriptions are added, additional time is needed for the Canadian (or other selected country) doctor to review them.
REFILLS. For refills of existing prescriptions, Our Canadian pharmacies will include a “Refill Request Form” with each shipment that lists all of your current medications, including strength, Rx #, quantity and number of refills remaining for each medication. You should then fax or mail this form to CanUSAmeds.com, along with any new or new replacement prescriptions when you are ready to have your next order filled. Customers should call, fax or mail their refill requests to CanUSAmeds. You should submit your Refill Request Form approximately 3 weeks in advance for straight refills, or 4 weeks in advance if you also have a new (or new “replacement”) prescription to be filled. Please be sure to include any changes that need to be noted. Additionally, you must let us know if you are changing your method of payment or want to use a different credit card. As in the case of your initial order, new “replacement” prescriptions must be reviewed and approved by a licensed Canadian (or other selected country) doctor.
PLEASE NOTE THAT PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Additionally, as is the case under U.S. law, CANADIAN LAW PROHIBITS PHARMACIES FROM REUSING OR RESELLING ANY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS THAT ARE RETURNED FOR ANY REASON. (Alberta College of Pharmacists Standard 5.1(m) – Standards of Practice) Accordingly, refunds or credits are issued only in cases where either Our Canadian Pharmacy or CanUSAmeds, has made an error.
Home 
