While 26 percent of Americans have tried a Search Engine for finding drug information online, still only a few are entering the online prescription drugs marketplace.

The prescription medicine market is enormous and includes millions of Americans who venture online to get information about the medicines they use.

According to the new Pew Internet & American Life Project “Prescription Drugs Online” report, 64% of American households contain a regular user of prescription drugs, and one in four Americans (26%) has used the Internet to look for information about prescription meds.

However, just 4% of Americans have purchased prescription medications online, because, quite simply, most Americans do not completely trust the online prescription drug marketplace.

While 62% of Americans think purchasing prescription medications online is less safe than purchasing them at a local drug store, only 20% believe web 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 few have ever purchased prescription meds on the internet. The survey found a mere 4% of Americans have ever actually purchased prescription meds on the web. To put that in actual numbers, of the 2,200 American adults questioned just 93 people said they had bought prescription medications on the internet.

When it comes to why people purchase meds on the web, even though the sample size was tiny, Americans who have ordered prescription medications online cited convenience and cost savings as the primary 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 on the internet, the majority of Rx purchasers said they visited an online pharnacy that was based in the United States, and only a few visited an internet pharmacy based offshore. In addition:

– Three-quarters of Rx purchasers said the last time they bought prescription medicines on the web, they purchased a medication for a chronic medical condition such as high blood pressure or arthritis.

– One-quarter said their last purchase at an online drug store was to aid weight loss or sexual performance.

– Most were pleased with their last contact with an online pharmacy and plan to order prescription drugs on the web in the near future.

All in all, the survey was cheerful about the future of the internet medication market, stating that “Ignorance and mistrust of the online prescription medicine 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 category, 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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