US Citizen in US - Buy RX from Canada- Possible?

[ForumUser]

I am a senior from the US and just received a prescription (RX) that would cost $400.00 per months, which I cannot afford.

I see that I can save by having it filled in Canada, but don’t know how to do this.

How can I do this?

Can you help me?

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be interested in and concerned about this situation.

Unfortunately, this is the information regarding this type of situation found on the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) website in the I live in the United States, is it legal for me to import drugs into the U.S. from Canada? section.

Here is an excerpt,

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that it is illegal to import drugs from any other country, including Canada, except under very specific circumstances. The only case where importation is allowed is when all four of these conditions are met: the drug is needed to treat a serious condition, is not advertised in the U.S., does not present “unreasonable risk” and is not available in the United States. You are allowed to physically carry a 3 month supply of medication for personal use across the border, but you are not allowed to have medication shipped to you from across the border. More information can be found on the FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs website. You may also want to review the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy information on “Buying Medicine Online”.

As well, pharmacists in Canada are not legally allowed to fill prescriptions from physicians that are not licensed to practice medicine in Canada. This means that in order to get a prescription filled from a pharmacy in Canada, a prescription from a U.S. physician has to be signed again (or co-signed) by a Canadian physician. Some pharmacies offer to have your prescription co-signed by a Canadian physician for you. The problem is that physicians who do so are not considered to be meeting all the standards of care set out by their medical regulatory bodies because they are signing prescriptions for patients they have never met. It is generally considered unprofessional to write or sign prescriptions without establishing a valid physician-patient relationship that has included an in-person physical examination. The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada “believes that physicians should only prescribe (including telephone prescribing, Internet prescribing, countersigning of prescriptions and electronic prescribing) in the context of an established patient-physician relationship to assure continuity of care and ensure appropriate information is transmitted to the patient” 3. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) “strongly opposes” the participation of physicians in the co-signing of prescriptions for patients from other jurisdictions in Canada or abroad.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

=====
Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org