Online Medicine Safety: How to Check a Pharmacy

Is it safe to obtain medicine online in the EU?

Online medicine access needs checks of the actual retailer, product and national rules. A registered business, a prescription or a logo alone cannot guarantee safety or make a prohibited sale lawful. Illegal websites may offer falsified, substandard or unregulated products that look genuine.

For readers in Spain, the starting point is important: distance sale of prescription medicines is prohibited. Authorised online pharmacy sale of non-prescription medicines has separate requirements. An intermediary platform is not automatically a pharmacy, and a cross-border prescription is not shipping permission. See AEMPS's notice on websites and apps.

What EU rules cover

Directive 2011/62/EU introduced protections against falsified medicines, including conditions for online retail, a verifiable common logo, supply-chain controls and packaging safety features. National restrictions remain, including restrictions on prescription-medicine sales at a distance.

Do not assume every pack has identical serialisation requirements: the safety-feature rules have defined scope and exceptions. A barcode, sealed box or familiar brand is not independent proof of authenticity. National authorities enforce the applicable retail and dispensing rules; an EMA reference is not approval of a website.

How to check the common logo

The EU common logo contains a white cross with green/grey design elements and the national flag of the retailer's country, not the EU flag. It must link to the retailer's entry in the national register. Check that the authority page is genuine and that its listed website matches the site you intend to use; return through the register's link.

The logo concerns the authorised medicine retailer. It does not establish that an assessment intermediary is a licensed pharmacy or that every medicine offered can lawfully be sold into your country. If a site claims to sell medicines online but has no verifiable registration, do not proceed on the strength of its own claims. The European Commission logo page links to national registers; it is not a single EU pharmacy licence.

A practical register check

Identify the pharmacy or retailer that will supply the medicine, separately from any assessment or intermediary platform.
Open the clickable common logo on that retailer's website. A copied image alone is not verification.
Check that the destination is the genuine national authority's register, not another commercial page or a lookalike domain.
Match the retailer's name and exact website address with the register entry. Use the register's website link to return to the listed retailer.
Check the relevant national supply rules for the medicine and destination separately. A register entry does not grant permission for every prescription product or cross-border shipment.
If the entry is missing or the identity or domain does not match, do not proceed on the retailer's assurances; seek clarification from the authority or a pharmacist.

The EMA directory of national online-retailer registers is a starting point for finding the relevant authority. This directory link was checked on 3 October 2026; individual national entries and retailers have not been certified by this article. It is not a list of Prescrivia partners or supported destinations.

Prescrivia is a technology intermediary and remains pre-production. The common logo must not be presented as Prescrivia's own pharmacy accreditation. Check the actual dispensing pharmacy and the named doctor's registration independently.

Falsified products: the risks

Falsified or substandard products may contain the wrong ingredient, too much or too little of an ingredient, contamination, no active ingredient or misleading expiry information.

Appearance alone cannot reliably distinguish them from genuine medicines. WHO's patient advice explains checks and reporting. Operation Pangea is coordinated by INTERPOL, with national partners; it is not a Europol operation. See INTERPOL's Pangea account. An enforcement operation does not measure the current risk for every website.

Warning signs and useful checks

Warning sign	What to check
A retailer's common logo is missing, copied or links to an unrelated page	Verify the exact retailer and domain in the competent authority's register
Prescription products offered without a valid prescription, or a prescription promised before assessment	Do not bypass clinical review or national supply restrictions
Miracle cures, guaranteed outcomes or unsolicited medicine offers	Treat the claims as a reason to stop and verify independently
Unverifiable address, unclear pharmacy identity or no workable complaints route	Check official registration and how to contact the responsible parties
Unexpected beneficiary or pressured payment outside the stated process	Verify the recipient, amount and payment instructions through a trusted channel
Unexplained very low prices or unclear product origin	Price alone is neither proof of fraud nor proof of authenticity; verify the product and retailer

A bank transfer is not automatically fraud. Prescrivia's documented payment methods include Wise bank-transfer instructions. Conversely, an established processor or HTTPS does not prove clinical legitimacy or secure handling of every datum. Cryptocurrency, unusual payment demands or irreversible payments warrant careful verification; do not treat a payment method as a substitute for checking the service.

Look for named clinicians with verifiable registration, clear pharmacy identity, itemised costs, a privacy notice and a functioning support and complaints route. These are checks to perform, not certifications granted by this article. Reviews and company registration cannot replace medical and pharmacy registers.

Service models and their limits

Pharmacies accepting existing prescriptions: a licensed pharmacy checks a valid prescription and dispenses within applicable rules. Online ordering and delivery are possible only where the actual national and cross-border rules permit them. A new platform questionnaire is not required merely because a valid existing prescription is being dispensed.

Technology intermediaries: platforms such as Prescrivia connect patients with independent doctors and licensed pharmacies. Prescrivia does not employ the doctors, prescribe, sell or dispense medicines. A doctor may request more information, refer, decline or prescribe; the pharmacy has its own dispensing responsibility.

Neither model is automatically lawful in every country. The real assessment, payment, prescribing and supply arrangement must be checked. No prescription or outcome is guaranteed before clinical assessment.

Ten checks before proceeding

Verify whether the product can lawfully be supplied by the proposed route in your country.
For an online medicine retailer, follow the common logo to the genuine national register and check the exact domain.
Confirm the pharmacy's identity, address and authorisation.
Check prescription requirements and identify the doctor if a new assessment is offered.
Read the privacy notice: purpose, lawful basis, recipients, rights and contact details matter.
Review separate assessment, medicine and any delivery charges and the applicable refund terms.
Verify payment instructions and the beneficiary; do not rely solely on HTTPS or a payment logo.
Confirm support, follow-up and complaint channels.
Treat independent reviews as supplementary information, not proof of a licence.
Check the product, packaging and leaflet with a pharmacist if anything seems wrong; visual inspection cannot certify authenticity.

Prescription and non-prescription medicines

Issue	Prescription medicines	Non-prescription medicines
Prescription	A valid prescription is required	No prescription is required for the particular presentation
Assessment	Prescribing needs appropriate clinical assessment; an existing valid prescription does not necessarily require a new online consultation	Pharmacist advice may still be necessary; non-prescription does not mean risk-free
Online retail	Depends on national rules; Spain prohibits distance sale of prescription medicines	Only through the authorised route and retailer under national rules
Common logo	Applies to authorised online medicine retail; does not override a national prohibition	Verify the authorised retailer in the national register
Risk from falsification	Can be serious	Can also be serious; not an inherently “moderate-risk” category
Price and availability	Depend on product and country	Depend on product and country

Both categories require proper sourcing and applicable regulatory controls. A non-prescription product bought from an unverified site can still be dangerous.

If you suspect a falsified medicine

Do not take a product you suspect is falsified. Seek prompt advice from a pharmacist or doctor about safe continuation of any needed treatment, rather than leaving an essential condition untreated. Keep the packaging, leaflet, remaining product, receipt and seller details. If you have severe symptoms, seek emergency help; call 112 in an emergency.

Report the suspected product to the relevant national medicines authority, such as AEMPS in Spain, BfArM in Germany, ANSM in France, AIFA in Italy or MEB/CBG in the Netherlands, following its current reporting route. Suspected crime can also be reported to national police. Do not rely on an unverified “EU Fake Medicines” reporting portal or assume the Commission directly handles each patient report. WHO's linked advice and the national authority can guide you.

Independent responsibilities and privacy

An independent doctor's professional duties and a licensed pharmacy's checks are meaningful safeguards, but their existence must be verified. The platform must not override clinical decisions. Documented responsibilities and complaints routes are useful; they do not guarantee authenticity, lawful supply or an outcome.

Prescrivia's privacy policy states that personal data is not sold. Marketing sharing separately requires explicit consent. Necessary disclosures to doctors, pharmacies and other service providers must be limited by purpose and the applicable basis; this is not a promise that only a doctor and pharmacist ever process data. See the privacy policy.

Sources and review limits

The linked Commission, EMA, Directive, AEMPS, WHO and INTERPOL sources explain the regulatory requirements and patient checks described here. They do not certify a particular retailer, its technical security or Prescrivia's country-specific arrangements. Text edited on 6 October 2026; this is not an approval date. See the current clinical, legal and language review statuses for this edition. This article is general information, not individual medical or legal advice. See the editorial policy and correction route. Translated editions need separate reconciliation and review against the revised source.

Online medicine safety in the EU: retailer checks and national rules