While 26% of Americans have tried a Search Engine for finding prescription drug information online, still only a few are entering the online prescription drugs marketplace.
The prescription medicine market is massive and includes millions of Americans who venture online to get information about the medicines they consume.
According to the new Pew Internet & American Life Project “Prescription Drugs Online” report, 64 percent of American households contain a regular user of prescription medications, and one in four Americans (26%) has used the Web to look for information about prescription medicines.
However, just 4% of Americans have purchased prescription drugs online, because, quite simply, most Americans do not wholly trust the online prescription drug marketplace.
While 62% of Americans think buying prescription medicine online is less safe than purchasing them at a local drugstore, only 20% believe internet purchases are as safe as local purchases. The remaining 18% responded that they did not know or that it depends on the situation.
In fact, even though 20% said online medication purchases are safe, only a small proportion have ever purchased prescription medicines on the internet. The survey found a mere 4% of Americans have ever actually purchased prescription drugs on the internet. To put that in actual numbers, of the 2,200 American adults surveyed just 93 people said they had purchased prescription drugs on the web.
When it comes to why people buy meds online, even though the sample size was small, Americans who have ordered prescription medicines online cited convenience and cost savings as the main reasons why they decided to take the leap. Privacy was the least likely factor of the choices offered in the survey.
When questioned about the last time they bought prescription drugs online, the majority of Rx purchasers said they visited an online pharnacy that was based in the United States, and only a few visited a site based in another country. In addition:
– Three-quarters of Rx purchasers said the last time they purchased prescription medicines on the internet, they purchased a medicine for a chronic medical condition such as high blood pressure or arthritis.
– One-quarter said their last purchase at an online pharmacy was to aid weight loss or sexual performance.
– Most were satisfied with their last contact with an online pharmacy and plan to order prescription drugs online in the near future.
All in all, the survey was optimistic about the future of the online drug market, stating that “Ignorance and mistrust of the online prescription medication market may be dispelled by further research and good experiences,” and indicating that many Americans may soon change their minds about the safety of online prescription medicine purchases.
Drawing an analogy to the growth in another large online sector, the report stated: “Prescription drug purchasers who research a product online often become customers”.
Convenience is the number one reason why banking became the fastest-growing activity between 2000 and 2002 ? and it is the main reason why current Rx purchasers made the switch from offline to online ordering.
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