Opportunities in Online Medicine Purchasing

This chapter considers the new opportunities for purchasing medicine provided by the Web. These opportunities are incorporated within the challenges to the pharmaceutical market place, governance and regulation, and healthcare expertise fused with the discourses on risk. In the first instance an investigation into the routes to online medicine purchasing is undertaken utilising the empirical research data, before the chapter turns to how regulation is navigated by distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate online medicine purchasing. Qualitative accounts involving challenges to healthcare expertise are also presented.