In this age of digital information, we have enough educational materials online to tell us how "more expensive" does not necessarily mean "more effective," when it comes to medicine. We also have enough educational materials online to tell us that sometimes, we do not always get the best prices for necessary medicines where we live. With other countries now only a click of a mouse button away, we can shop all over the globe for the things we need. And for medicines, we need look no further than credible online New Zealand pharmacy.

What can one expect from a New Zealand pharmacy, exactly? The first thing, as stated earlier, is the competitive pricing scheme. The New Zealand dollar prices low against the US dollar, which makes New Zealand-made products fundamentally cheaper even when imported. Even branded medicines, which tend to cost an arm and a leg, would be much more affordable if you are from Europe or the United States, if you purchase them from lower-cost locations. Besides New Zealand, other popular locations for online pharmacies are India, Canada and Israel.

Different brand names can be confusing; it leads one to ask: how come pharmaceutical companies can place different prices on medicines that have the same generic names anyway? Aren't medicines with the same generic name essentially the same medicine? Well, they are, and they aren't exactly. Generic names identify the active ingredients of a particular drug. However, dosage and additives vary with different brand names.

Commonly generic drugs are less expensive than brand name drugs, but this is not always the case. Physicians also commonly prescribe generic drugs, but in some cases where a unique chemical additive is required, they prescribe brand names.

An example of a generic name is acetaminophen. Examples of brand names of medicine that have "acetaminophen" as a generic name are Tylenol, Tempra and Panadol. Sometimes acetaminophen is also known by the name "paracetamol," but they are both recognized as generic names of the same compound.

In countries where a good public health system is in place, the government subsidizes some of the cost of medication. A good health insurance program would also be able to cut the expenses significantly. If you are a beneficiary of any form of financial medical assistance, make sure to have your documents ready. When buying prescription drugs from any pharmacy, you will be required to have a prescription of your doctor handy. And sometimes your doctor may need to send out the prescription him or herself, so be safe, you should inform your doctor when you plan to buy from an offshore or online pharmacy.

By New Zealand law, only certified pharmacists, intern pharmacists and pharmacy technicians may sell prescription medicines, and only in a registered pharmacy. Pharmacies are usually located in malls or suburban shopping centers. Like GPs, they are also listed in the Yellow Pages, so if you reside in New Zealand, you should be able to find a pharmacy near your home without a problem.

There are a number of organizations to contact if you suspect that a specific pharmacy in your locality is operating without a license, or if you believe that an individual is dispensing prescription or over-the-counter drugs without proper accreditation. Examples of these organizations are the Pharmacists’ Guild of New Zealand (www.pgnz.org.nz) and the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (www.pharmacycouncil.org.nz). The websites of some of these organizations display public documents related to registered pharmacists.

Just like offline pharmacies, online pharmacies operating from New Zealand are required to operate within the boundaries set by New Zealand law. If you ever had doubts about the reliability of online pharmacies, you need not worry about NZ-based ones - there are official databases that have accredited online drugstores listed, and often they are public and searchable. Besides the websites listed above, you could also look through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) website, specifically their Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) sub-site (www.nabp.net/vipps/intro.asp).

Be wary of online drugstores that do not ask for a copy of your prescriptions when dispensing prescription-only medication. Bear in mind, however, that in New Zealand, some drugs such as Flonase Nasal, Claratin and Allegra are over-the-counter (OTC) and do not require prescriptions, so an online New Zealand pharmacy may not ask for one.