26% of Americans use the Internet to look for prescription drugs, but only 4% have purchased them online due to a lack of trust in the online marketplace. 62% of Americans believe buying prescription drugs online is less safe than buying them at a local pharmacy, while 20% believe it is as safe as buying them locally. The survey found that 93% of Americans who purchased prescription drugs online cited convenience and cost savings as the primary reasons for their decision.
Most went to a site based in the US, and three-quarters of them bought a drug for a chronic medical condition. One-quarter said their most recent online pharmacy purchase was for weight loss or sexual performance. Overall, the survey was optimistic about the online drug market's future, suggesting that many Americans may soon change their minds about the safety of online prescription drug purchases.
While 26% of Americans have used a search engine to find drug information online, only a few have entered the online prescription drug marketplace.
The prescription drug market is massive, with millions of Americans going online to learn more about the medications they take.
According to the new Pew Internet & American Life Project "Prescription Drugs Online" report, 64% of American households have a regular prescription drug user, and one in every four Americans (26%) has used the Internet to look for prescription drug information.
However, only 4% of Americans have purchased prescription drugs online, owing to a general lack of trust in the online prescription drug marketplace.
While 62% of Americans believe that buying prescription drugs online is less safe than buying them at a local pharmacy, only 20% believe that buying them online is as safe as buying them locally. The remaining 18% said they didn't know or it depends on the situation.
In fact, while one in five people believe online drug purchases are safe, only a small percentage have ever purchased prescription drugs online. According to the survey, only 4% of Americans have ever purchased prescription drugs over the Internet. In terms of numbers, only 93 of the 2,200 American adults polled said they had purchased prescription drugs online.
Even though the sample size was small, Americans who ordered prescription drugs online cited convenience and cost savings as the primary reasons for their decision. Privacy was the least likely factor among the survey options.
When asked when they last purchased prescription drugs online, the vast majority said they went to a site based in the United States, with only a few going to a site based in another country. In addition,
-Three-quarters of Rx purchasers said they bought a drug for a chronic medical condition such as high blood pressure or arthritis the last time they bought prescription drugs online.
-One-quarter said their most recent online pharmacy purchase was for weight loss or sexual performance.
-The majority were pleased with their most recent interaction with an online pharmacy and intend to order prescription drugs online in the future.
Overall, the survey was optimistic about the online drug market's future, stating that "Ignorance and mistrust of the online prescription drug 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 drug purchases.
The report stated, drawing an analogy to the growth of another large online category: "[Prescription drug purchasers] who conduct online research on a product are more likely to become customers.
Convenience is the primary reason why banking became the fastest-growing activity between 2000 and 2002 — and why current Rx purchasers switched from offline to online ordering."
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