Commonly Asked Questions

Q. Do I need a prescription?  A. Yes. Before placing an order, you must have a valid prescription issued by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the United States. Q. What other information do I need to provide?  A. If this is your first prescription order with World Canadian Pharmacy, you will also need to complete and sign the Patient Questionnaire and Customer Agreement Form. As stated in the instructions for How to Order, this information can either be faxed using our toll-free fax number or it can be mailed to us. Q. What guidelines does World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy follow in filling prescriptions?  A. Once your prescription from your U.S. doctor and your completed questionnaire have been received by our affiliated Canadian pharmacy, a Canadian doctor will review your medical history and approve your prescription under his/her Canadian license. Your prescription will be filled as written. The name and strength as written on the prescription will be dispensed. However, our affiliated Canadian pharmacy will substitute U.S. approved generic drugs for brand name drugs when available unless your U.S. physician indicates on the prescription that no substitutions are allowed, OR unless you indicate to us that you do not want substitutions made. NOTE: World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy will NOT fill prescriptions for narcotics or other controlled substances such as benzodiazephines. Q. How large a supply of my medications can I buy?  A. You may only order as much as your U.S. physician prescribes for you. Additionally, all prescriptions are limited to a maximum of a ninety (90) day supply. (Please note: It is permissible to issue 100 tab/capsule quantities under this restriction.) Q. What is World Canadian Pharmacy privacy policy regarding my personal information?  A. World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy maintain the highest professional standards regarding the confidentiality of customer information. World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy will not release or otherwise share any prescription, personal medical or financial information with anyone or any entity, other than the reviewing Canadian physician, the customer to whom the information pertains or the U.S. physician who prescribed the medications ordered, without the express written consent of the customer. Additionally, World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy will not sell, lease, rent or otherwise make available mailing lists or other customer-based consumer information to any other person or business entity. For additional information, please review our complete Privacy Policy. Q. Are there certain drugs that I cannot buy through World Canadian Pharmacy?  A. World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy will not fill prescriptions for narcotics or other controlled substances such as benzodiazephines and will not fill prescriptions where either the drug or a different brand name of the same drug is not available in the U.S. Q. How do I pay?  A. World Canadian Pharmacy makes it easy to pay for your prescription drugs. We accept MasterCard and Visa, Personal Checks or Postal Money Orders. The charge will appear on your credit card billing statement as being from "World Canadian Pharmacy" or from one of our affiliated licensed Canadian Pharmacies that have filled your particular order.  All charges are in U.S. dollars.  Q. How are initial orders different from refill orders? A. World Canadian Pharmacy will call you approximately 3 to 4 weeks before your refill date to confirm that you want your prescription refilled and to ask whether there have been any changes.  It is not necessary to submit any forms to receive your refills.  However, if you are adding a new prescription, you will need to fax the new prescription(s) to World Canadian Pharmacy. No other information is needed unless there has been a change in your address, health, in the strengths or quantities of the medications you're taking, or in the method of payment (in which case this information must also be provided). Once a prescription has expired, it will be necessary to provide a copy of the new prescription issued by your U.S. doctor. As in the case of your initial order, a Canadian physician will then review and approve your prescription under his or her Canadian license. Q. Are the drugs I will receive the same quality as the drugs that I buy in the U.S.?  A. Just as the United States, Canada is a first world country and has exceptionally high standards along with a rigorous approval system and strict manufacturing requirements for pharmaceuticals. Many of the drugs sold in Canada are exactly the same as those sold in the United States. Other drugs are manufactured in Canada and are the version sold in Canada. Some drugs may have a different name or look different than the one you are familiar with in the U.S. As one example, in Canada, the U.S. drug Prilosec is called Losec and is a pill rather than a capsule, even though it is in fact the same drug and is made by the same manufacturer. World Canadian Pharmacy and its affiliated Canadian pharmacy will not send you any drug that does not have an approved version in the United States. Q. Are all American drugs available?  A. For different reasons, not all drugs available in the United States are available in Canada. Q. Why can I buy certain generic drugs from Canada that are not available in the U.S.?  A. Because of differences in the patent laws between the U.S. and Canada, generic versions of certain U.S. brand name drugs are produced in Canada that are not available in the U.S. Q. Who makes Canadian generic drugs and are they safe?  A. The generic drugs produced in Canada are subject to the same strict approval and regulation as brand name drugs and are used by millions of Canadian citizens on a daily basis. The manufacturers of these generic drugs are large and well-respected companies. They include Apotex, Novopharm and Genpharm. Q. Can I transfer a prescription from a local pharmacy in the U.S.?  A.  Since all prescriptions submitted to the Canadian pharmacy must initially be reviewed by a licensed Canadian physician, along with the completed Patient Questionnaire, transfers of prescriptions from U.S. pharmacies are not possible. Q. How are my drugs shipped and how long does it take to receive them? A. Your prescription order is shipped by a combination of Canada Post express mail and U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. Initial orders should be received within 21 days. Refill orders should be received within 21 days. Q.What is World Canadian Pharmacy's return policy? A. Just as in the United States, Canadian pharmacies are prohibited from using returned drugs. The applicable rule reads as follows:  The Pharmacist shall not accept the return for use or re-use of any portion of any drug or non-prescription medication (British Columbia College of Pharmacists Standard 5.1 (m) Standards of Practice - The Pharmacist, Jan. 1, 1996)  However, if an error by the pharmacy results in a customer receiving drugs that should not have been shipped, a credit or refund will be issued. Q. Why can World Canadian Pharmacy only write a prescription for a maximum of 3 months? A. Due to regulations put into place by the FDA, American citizens are only allowed to import a maximum of 3 months worth of medication for personal use. Any amount above this 3 month limit is not considered "personal use". Q. What is the difference between a brand name drug and a Generic drug? A. A generic drug is a medication for which the original manufacturer has lost patent protection. Because of this, other manufacturers are allowed to produce and sell the exact medication at a lower more competitive price. The generic drug is the exact same medication as the original brand name drug, simply made by another company. Due to strict regulations on the generic drug industry, these drugs must provide the same therapeutic effect as the brand name drug. Q.Can you fill prescriptions from American doctors? A. Yes we can, once a Canadian doctor has reviewed and approved your prescription under his/her Canadian license. Q. Can I buy Valium, Tylenol #3 or similar medications from your pharmacy? A. We legally cannot ship any narcotic or controlled substance across the border. We also will not sell any habit forming medications. Q. Will you accept my insurance? A. Unfortunately no. We are located in Canada and because of this we cannot accept any foreign insurance. We will provide you with a proper receipt for insurance purposes. Your insurance company may or may not accept our receipts. Q.Is there a limit on how much I can buy? A.Yes, you may purchase a maximum of a 1 year supply of each of your medications, provided that you have a valid prescription for that supply of medication. If your physician writes a prescription for more than a 1 year supply then we can fill those refills as they come due. Q. Are all drugs less expensive in Canada? A.No. The majority are less expensive, but there are exceptions. Q.How does the quality of Canadian medications compare to American medications? A. The Canadian government has very strict requirements for the manufacturing of medication in Canada. These requirements are very similar to the requirements in the US. Some of the the drugs sold in Canada are actually manufactured in the US and repackaged for sale in Canada. Generic medications are all manufactured in Canada under Canada's stringent requirements. Q. Why do some drugs have different names in Canada? A. These are trade or brand names registered by the manufacturer. In different countries manufacturers will often use different trade names. The medications have the same active ingredients, but may look different and have a different trade name. Q.Why are your prescription prices so low? A. The first reason is the cheap Canadian dollar --$100 U.S. buys roughly $140 in Canadian goods. The second reason is price controls. The Canadian government limits how much pharmaceutical manufacturers can charge for brand-name drugs when they are approved and caps subsequent price increases. As well, in Canada generics become available 5 years earlier. Q. What happens if my shipment never arrives? A. If a shipment does not arrive within 21 days, World Canadian Pharmacy will either fully refund a customers payment or will reship the order. You (the customer) will be offered a choice of either of the two options. Q. Does World Canadian Pharmacy meet all of the legal requirements in place in order to ship drugs to the United States? A. Yes. World Canadian Pharmacy presently meets all known requirements in place in Canada and the United States to be able to ship prescription drugs into the United States.