Thinking about using one, but not sure about the law in Switzerland and where to start. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

sunstore.ch has an online pharmacy shop. works fine if you're not in a hurry. They send you the bill which you have to pay before they're sending you the order.
Then there also local Pharmacies that bring you your medication to your house if that is what you are looking for ? ...

Hmmm good question ... is there a reliable place where I can buy prescription medication without having a prescription ?

My insurance does not reimburse me anything, and I don't really see the point of paying a doctor every 6 month just for him to renew the prescription.

I get my medicines from Apotheke zur Rose
http://www.zur-rose.ch/ (available in German and English)

Been their customer since more than a year and would rate them 9/10. Prices are discounted 5% for patented medicines and 10% for generica. They bill most insurers directly.

Delivery within 2 working days. Hence, unsuitable for emergency medication but very good for sustained treatment.

Pharmacies are legally forbidden to supply without valid prescriptions.

My GP is willing to give me a refill prescription without seeing me and charging him. I phone his secretary and she arranges it.

Does anyone know if there has been any progress with online pharmacies in Switzerland since 2008. I get the feeling that they're either got laws preventing it, or some other form of restrictions..

If you mean you are thinking of buying prescription drugs from abroad via Internet, then don't do it!

Ask Swiss Medic, government agency http://www.swissmedic.ch/

No, not interested in prescription meds.. Just over the counter items! Like Chemist Direct in the UK (they deliver here but shipping doesn't make the discounts worth it)

Is there anything like they have in the uk where they can diagnose you online and then you can order from an online pharmacy? Alternatively do they do repeat prescriptions here?

I've got a chronic (permanent) condition that needs long term medication and it seems a waste of my time and money to visit a gp each time.

You get a prescription from the GP once and if they make it renewable annually then you just go to the pharmacy to get it refilled as many times as you need during that time.
You then need to get it renewed for another year by the GP once it expires.

I also need to take daily medication for life (the cost is about 3.- CHF per day), and receive prescriptions that last one year (the legal maximum). I obtain six month's worth of medication at a time from the pharmacy, so in total I only need to visit the pharmacy a few times a year.

In the German-speaking part, you ask the doctor for a Dauerrezept. Each time you need a refill you take the prescription to the pharmacy and they stamp it, write the date, and initial it. Some pharmacies might do mail orders as well, but all the pharmacies around me make me show up in person.

Some medicines are available in larger quantities with prescription, so the Dauerrezept means I can get the 3-month supply of my medicine (cheaper) instead of once per month.

If you give your Dauerrezept to Zur Rose they'll give you a 50CHF Migros voucher. Their service however is typical old-school Swiss i.e. no app and lots of paper work.