Local pharmacy versus Delivery apps

General
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This image shows a local pharmacy where the medicines are arranged according to their class/alphabetically, and dispensed when a patient comes with a prescription. (Image taken from Wikimedia Commons)
This image shows a local pharmacy where the medicines are arranged according to their class/alphabetically, and dispensed when a patient comes with a prescription. (Image taken from Wikimedia Commons)1920×2560 1.6 MB

We have seen a sudden rise in the pharmacy apps that deliver medicines to our doorstep.
In this era of digitalization, is it necessary to digitize this part of healthcare?
Let’s look into a few of the advantages and disadvantages!

These apps affect the local community pharmacies as well. How does this happen?

  • They often provide high discounts and various promotional coupons and codes. This puts local pharmacies under pressure, as they cannot provide such massive discounts due to their limited profitability.

  • There is a loss of personal communication with the local pharmacist. They provide advice and counsel the patient whenever needed. But with these apps, you often have to wait in a queue to get your problem solved.

  • Many local pharmacies are encouraged to partner up with these apps to provide medicines.

How does this digitization help?

  • Helps improve medication access in all areas.

  • Saves time and is convenient to use. Patients do not have to move from one pharmacy to another to look for a drug.

  • Discounts for customers.

But these delivery apps face a few challenges:

  • Ensuring that a drug is dispensed only against a valid prescription.

  • Ensuring that the patient is counseled about the drug before they start taking it.

  • Ensuring patient data is stored properly, maintaining data privacy.

These are a few points that came to my mind. I feel that if the delivery apps and the local pharmacies work together, they can improve patient care by ensuring that essential medicines are accessible, affordable, and safe for everyone.

What are other factors that you think can affect local pharmacies or delivery apps individually or when they work together?

MBH/AS

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Most people have a tendency to misuse medicines. Patients should be counseled about the drug by the pharmacist before consuming the medication.This helps prevent drug misuse. Local pharmacy and delivery apps should work hand in hand.

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At pharma shops (chemist shops) in India, the untrained guys running the show brazenly dispense off whatever you ask for barring sedatives and poisons (a couple of decades back even the latter was not an issue). On top of that, they act as ‘doctors’ often ‘prescribing meds to customers​:hushed_face::hushed_face:

Infact online pharma apps will not be able to indulge in such brazen practices because electronic footprints are being created.