The Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) Celebrates 15TH Anniversary, 100 Percent Perfect Safety Record
November 17, 2017
The Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) is celebrating its 15th anniversary, serving more than approximately 15 million U.S. customers since 2002. During this time period, CIPA has maintained a 100 percent perfect safety record while offering personal use medications costing 50-80 percent less than the same prescriptions filled in the U.S.
CIPA is an association of licensed retail pharmacies that sell 90-day supplies of pharmaceuticals and maintenance medications, but not controlled substances, to Canadians and Americans. CIPA member pharmacies abide by stringent standards to ensure patient safety, including: requiring a valid prescription before dispensing medications; obtaining demographic and medical information from the patient and maintaining a health profile with medication history to avoid adverse drug interactions; having a licensed pharmacist on staff to supervise dispending of medications and be available for patient consultation upon request; and having procedures to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality of personal records and contact information.
CIPA meets an urgent need by providing safe, affordable daily medications especially important to seniors and others living on fixed incomes. The exorbitantly high cost of U.S. medications has dire consequences, especially for these at-risk individuals. As drug prices continue to skyrocket out of control, tens of millions of these Americans must choose between their medications and other critical living expenses, often skipping doses or not purchasing necessary medications at all.
"Millions of Americans must make untenable choices, and often jeopardize their health because they simply cannot afford the outrageous costs of their daily medications," explains CIPA General Manager Tim Smith. "For 15 years, we have been providing a safe, affordable solution to this problem, and we're proud to celebrate this anniversary with the knowledge that we're improving - and even saving - the lives of U.S consumers."
CIPA members in good standing display the CIPA Certification Mark on their website, providing an important consumer tool for identifying safe, legitimate pharmacies. Consumers should look for the CIPA Mark when visiting Canadian pharmacies, and then visit the CIPA website to verify the pharmacy is legitimately using the CIPA Certification.
CIPA routinely identifies rogue online pharmacies using the CIPA Certification Mark without authorization. When this occurs, CIPA sends "cease and desist" notifications, notifies domain name registrars, and alerts law enforcement. Consumers can find a list of undesirable (rogue) online purveyors they should avoid on the CIPA website as well.
"Our Certification Mark represents our integrity, our trustworthiness, our stringent practices, and our resulting perfect safety record over 15 years. CIPA members display the Mark proudly, and look forward to continuing to meet the urgent demand from U.S. consumers for safe, affordable maintenance medications they can rely upon to protect their health," Smith said.
About CIPA
The Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) is an association of licensed retail pharmacies that sell pharmaceuticals and maintenance medications (but not controlled substances) in 90-day quantities for personal use to individuals in both Canadian and the U.S. from pharmacies in Canada. In addition, CIPA members have business relationships with licensed international pharmacies and government-approved dispensing facilities that ship medications directly to patients from their premises. CIPA member pharmacies provide the same quality controls and convenience of U.S. mail-order services, allowing consumers to maintain their health with brand-name pharmaceuticals delivered right to their home. Our member pharmacies have maintained a 100 percent perfect safety record, while serving more than 15 million U.S. patients since CIPA was established in 2002. CIPA can be found online at www.cipa.com.
