{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]],"date-time":"2025-10-06T08:40:06Z","timestamp":1759740006200,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]],"date-time":"2025-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759708800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Accessibility and affordability of medicines are key for patients\u2019 effective treatment. However, drug prices are soaring, and patients are looking for cheaper medications in Europe and beyond. This study aimed to evaluate European pharmacists\u2019 perceptions and attitudes about the impact of global inflation and the military conflict setting in Ukraine on patients\u2019 buying medicines behaviours. A secondary objective comprised the problem of buying medicines from illegal online sources like social media or non-regulated marketplaces.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>An observational cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2023 to April 2024 using an anonymous and self-designed questionnaire consisting of 11 questions. The survey was created using Google Forms. The survey link was shared mostly by e-mail amongst practising pharmacists from five European countries.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Events of the recent years, such as inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the war in Ukraine were perceived by the pharmacists as contributing to patients looking for better medicines prices, mostly related to online purchases. The most important factors influencing online purchase of medicines beyond price were convenience of shopping anytime, and fast and free delivery. There is a perceived growing interest in buying medicines from online facilities other than e-pharmacies, such as local websites, social media or global marketplaces (e.g., <jats:ext-link>aliexpress.com<\/jats:ext-link>). Pharmacists do not actively inform their patients about the possible risks of buying medicines from unverified online sources.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>International disruptions seem to contribute to patients\u2019 looking for better prices of medicines. There is a need for societal education about the risks related to the possibility of counterfeited medicines online, as well as pharmacists\u2019 training to prioritize patient information and counselling on the hazards of medication acquisition from non e-pharmacies. There is an urgent need for global amendments to the pharmaceutical law to protect patients from illegal e-sources of medicines while keeping in-person services and offline purchases.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2025.1625826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]],"date-time":"2025-10-06T08:05:17Z","timestamp":1759737917000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The online purchase of medicines \u2013 an international pharmacists\u2019 perspective"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Tomasz","family":"Zaprutko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Kus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Yuliia","family":"Kremin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Bohdan","family":"Hromovyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Hristina","family":"Lebanova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Du\u0161anka Milo\u0161a","family":"Krajnovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ivana","family":"Stevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Emilija","family":"Simi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Kateryna","family":"Dorykevych","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Cynar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Wiktor","family":"Eliasz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Afonso Miguel","family":"Cavaco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1239507","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2023.1239507","article-title":"Reasons that lead people to buy prescription medicines on the internet: a systematic review","volume":"14","author":"Almomani","year":"","journal-title":"Front. 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