The internet has revolutionized the e-commerce sector. No doubts for guessing, people have never been as in tune with technology as they are today. It is the era of digitization. From food to fashion, everything is a click away. Most people do not have the time or energy to actually go to a store and buy something. Why step out, if you can do the same sitting comfortably in your living room. The pharmaceutical industry also did not remain untapped by digitization.
There has a glaring shift in the paradigm of buying behaviour of the customers, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown. With deeper penetration of internet services in various aspects of lifestyle choices, people want immediate access to expert advice from professionals. Hence, the online pharmaceutical industry has been booming rapidly and challenging this latent potential of the same to enhance profitability by going digital.
Online medicine websites have been extremely beneficial to patients. These websites have provided avenues for the patients to discuss their symptoms and take the advice of doctors, in a very timely and discrete fashion. Online medicine websites are especially helpful for patients suffering from chronic diseases; as they require multiple medications, they can repeat prescriptions easily and can get advice about dosage and timing of their treatment.
Types Online medicine websites or E-pharmacy.
There are several business models of online pharmaceutical businesses. Given is a summary of the same.
1. Unorganized online pharmacy
A distinguishing feature of the unorganized sector of the online medicine business is that the unorganized e-pharmacies do not ask for a prescription to sell prescription medicines. This is not a fair trade practice as there may be chances of potential drug abuse, posing severe threats to the lives of the patients. Unorganized online pharmacy generally asks the customer to pay upfront. According to a report published by WHO, 35% of the global counterfeit medicines are produced and smuggled in India. Instead of encouraging customers to buy generic medicines, the unorganized pharmacy sector is tarnishing the credibility of the industry.
2. Organized Online Pharmacy to buy Generic Medicines
The organized online pharmacy always supplies medicines based on a prescription. Also, critical scrutiny of the medical records to the patients are done before selling the medicines. Purchase behaviour is thoroughly tracked, and the tenure of reordering is also taken into consideration before delivering the medication. The organized online pharmacy has a very stringent quality control process in place, so that unethical practices may be prohibited. Organized e-pharmacies can be classified as under:
Inventory Based Model
Here, a central reserve infrastructure is present, from where medicines are sourced to different cities and states. Some of them are a part of the larger manufacturing units, they, not only produce their own medication, but they also have centralized stockpiles all over the country. This ensures that they can make prompt delivery to their customers, without much waste of time.
Market-Based Model
The market-based model requires online pharmaceutical businesses to collaborate with existing stockpiles, and this is done by collaborating with a certain number of chemists in a particular area, in the fashion of forming a cartel. So, if a customer places an order, it is communicated to the nearest medical store, and the partner chemist delivers the same to the end customers. It is a popular model of online pharmaceutical businesses, and it also helps in diverging customers so that they buy generic medicines online.
Benefits of Online Generic Medicine Websites or Generic Medicine App
The scenario of the pharmaceutical business has changed entirely with the advent of technology. Here are some of the benefits of online websites over traditional pharmacies, which are too hard to overlook.
Cost-effective
Since it is an emerging sector in India, online medical websites are launching various campaigns by providing lucrative discounts and cashback. This is mostly because of the reduced cost of maintenance on the companies. Irrespective of their business model, online medicine stores tend to save maintenance cost, as compared to the conventional pharmacies and thus making it easier for them to offer better customer services without incurring a colossal loss. They also tend to buy generic medicines, which are pocket-friendly and turn themselves into online generic medicine websites, which sell equally effective medicines at much lower prices.
Easy access
The most pertinent factor in the success of most online businesses is because they can be easily accessible. Online medicine websites tend to follow a simple interface so that customer can follow a few simple steps to buy their desired products and thereby leading to enhanced customer experience. Also, the e-pharmacies provide avenues to the patients to be self-dependent. Several patients are terminally ill and have to depend on others for their health care. Online medicine websites empower them to be self-reliant.
Authentic Medicine
The Indian Internet Pharmacy Association is a temporary regulatory body of all online medicine websites until the government announces any particular law to manage this sector. There are strict policies and norms laid down by the organization, which needs to be adhered to, so as to ensure the authenticity of the medicines. The e-pharmacies are either allowed to manufacture their medicines or procure medicines from trustworthy and established stockists.
Encouraging people to Buy Generic Medicines
There is a sector of the online medicine industry, where companies view to promoting people to buy generic medicines, which are highly beneficial to the customers. A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug consisting of an identical chemical substance to that of a drug that had been initially protected by a chemical patent.Online Generic medicines websites are allowed for sell generic medicines after the patents on the original medicines expire. A generic medicine is the same as a brand-name medicine in dosage, safety, effectiveness, strength, stability and quality, as well as the way it is taken and the way it should be used. The most exciting feature of generic medicine is that they are very cheap and affordable. This is a boon for a country like India, where most people cannot afford necessary healthcare facilities. Online Generic medicine websites like Medbuzz, have been working relentlessly to create a niche for people to buy generic medicines in the Indian Market. The company has a dream of becoming a pioneer in making generic medicines affordable, accessible, widely available & as popular as their branded versions if not more.
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