NABP Awards VIPPS Certification to Walgreens.com

February 23, 2001 12:00 am

Walgreens.com is the most recent online pharmacy to receive Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS™) certification from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Walgreens.com is located at www.walgreens.com.

“NABP is pleased to award VIPPS certification to Walgreens.com,” says NABP President Jerry Moore. “The VIPPS program, together with the hyperlinked seal, provide a measure of trust to consumers who trust their prescription medication needs to online pharmacies. By complying with the stringent criteria of the VIPPS online pharmacy certification program, Walgreens.com has demonstrated its commitment to the philosophy of the VIPPS program.”

“For 100 years we've built our reputation as ‘The Pharmacy America Trusts,' and VIPPS certification helps extend that trust to our online pharmacy," says Ron Weinert, Walgreens director of e-commerce. “We're proud to meet the meticulous standards of NABP that ensure our online patients receive the highest standards of service.” Weinert notes that Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2000 sales of $21.2 billion. The company operates more than 3,300 stores in 43 states and Puerto Rico. The full-service pharmacy at Walgreens.com was launched in September 1999 and receives more than 5,000 prescription requests a day.

As a VIPPS-certified site, Walgreens.com may display the VIPPS hyperlink seal of approval on its Web site. By clicking on the VIPPS seal, consumers will be able to find the verified information they need to make informed decisions regarding their choice of online pharmacies. Consumers may also access the VIPPS database directly via NABP's Web site at www.nabp.net.

Participation in the VIPPS certification program is voluntary. The program was developed to provide consumers with a reliable means to identify those online pharmacies that have proven their preparedness to meet the unique challenges of the practice of pharmacy via the Internet.

For more information about the VIPPS program or the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, please call NABP at 847/698-6227, or log on to NABP's Web site at www.nabp.net.

NABP is the independent, international, and impartial Association that assists its member boards and jurisdictions in developing, implementing, and enforcing uniform standards for the purpose of protecting the public health.

Jan Teplitz