HealthRatings.org Rates the Web's Most Popular Pharmacy Sites
Sites a Valuable Health Tool, But Shouldn't Be Sole Health Info Resource
Research Conducted by:
Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Health Improvement Institute (HII)
Consumer Reports WebWatch
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Abstract
When it comes to reliable information, shoppers of the Web's top online drugstores have a clear choice.
Experts at HealthRatings.org, a joint project of Consumer Reports and the Health Improvement institute, ranked Walgreens.com as the leader, citing quality of health information and ease of use, giving it a "very good" rating. RiteAid's Web site, RiteAid.com, earned a score of "good," while CVS earned a "fair," with raters noting some information quality concerns.
Results
All sites were rated "excellent" on their privacy policies, an important concern for consumers shopping at online drugstores. Two of the three sites rated only "fair" for ease of use. Walgreens rated "very good." Raters gave all three sites a score of "poor," however, on disclosure of advertising and sponsorship policies, and on policies for correcting wrong, misleading or outdated information.
Even the best-rated site, Walgreens, contained some information on alternative medicine practices that raters deemed questionable at best. Another site displayed similarly questionable information, said the raters, about supplements for sale.
Methodology
Using a tool based on WebWatch's guidelines for Web site credibility and HII criteria for health information, a panel of health and medical experts examined three sites in-depth over a period of more than one month, then rated each using established Consumer Reports-style methods and the familiar trademarked symbols. The list was determined using Nielsen//NetRatings and WebWatch data.
This is the first time HealthRatings.org has looked at online pharmacies. Overall ratings scores were determined from ten different attributes, including identity, advertising and sponsorship disclosure, ease of use, privacy, contents, authorship, references, editorial policies and health information. The raters did not shop at the online drugstores or perform comparison pricing tests.
The ratings do not test the scientific accuracy and validity of the health information. However, a number of the ratings attributes are intended to evaluate information quality. Sites that scored well in contents, authorship, references and transparency of editorial policies scored the highest overall.
See how each site rated at HealthRatings.org.
The 3 sites rated, ordered below by popularity measured by traffic (not by ratings score), are:
1. Walgreens.com
2. CVS.com
3. Rite Aid.com
HealthRatings.org urges consumers to use caution when purchasing medicines online and to shop from reliable pharmacies such as those rated. Ignore pop-up or spam advertisements on the Internet, or unsolicited junk faxes, offering drugs for sale without a prescription. Most such sites are scams at best, and at worst, may sell products of poor quality or that may contain harmful ingredients. Purchasing controlled substances without a prescription and appropriate consultation with a physician is dangerous and illegal.
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