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Online pharmacies are pharmacies which operate over the Internet. Many such pharmacies are, in some ways, similar to community pharmacies; the primary difference is the method by which the medications are requested and received. Some customers consider this to be more convenient than traveling to a community drugstore.

While many internet pharmacies sell prescription drugs only with a prescription, some do not require a pre-written prescription. In some countries, this is because prescriptions are not required. Some customers order drugs from such pharmacies to avoid the inconvenience of visiting a doctor or to obtain medications which their doctors were unwilling to prescribe. People living in the United States may turn to online pharmacies because medical care and prescription medications can be prohibitively expensive. Many of these websites employ their own in house physicians to review the medication request and write a prescription accordingly. Some websites such as xlpharmacy offer medications without a prescription or a doctor review. This practice has been criticized as potentially dangerous, especially by those who feel that only doctors can reliably assess contraindications, risk/benefit ratios, and the suitability of a medication for a specific individual. Pharmacies offering medication without a prescription and doctor review or supervision are sometimes fraudulent.

In the United States, there has been a push to legalize importation of medications from Canada and several European countries, in order to reduce consumer costs. Although importation of prescription medication usually violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and federal laws, enforcement is generally targeted at international drug suppliers, rather than consumers. Often Americans purchase lower-cost foreign drugs by driving to Canadian or Mexican pharmacies, buying their medications when traveling abroad on vacation, or, buying from foreign pharmacies that ship their orders via mail.