Introduction
The digital era has engulfed every nook and corner. Online pharmacies are no exception to this. More and more consumers are turning to the internet to avail healthcare.
The first online pharmacy is soma.com, which was founded in 1999. Since then, we have seen many changes in online pharmacies. A lot of changes and new pharmacies mushroomed during the period.
The Covid-19 has fueled the growth of online pharmacies as it had many features which
Matched with COVID-19-like quarantine protocol.
The evolution of online pharmacies is long and not without any struggle and competition. Online pharmacies have completely encroached on retail pharmacies.
Benefits of Online Pharmacy
The prime reasons for considering online pharmacies are convenience, accessibility, price transparency, availability, and privacy.
The main advantage of online pharmacies is improved access, which is unlike traditional pharmacies. Online pharmacies are available to everyone at the fingertips without issues of distance and time.
Online pharmacies also help by reducing the cost due to the reduction in travel, which is a lot of savings for people living at a distance.
The Other Benefits of Online Pharmacy Are:
- A comprehensive range of products
- Access to medicine for people living in rural communities
- Brand elevation of pharmacies
- Comfort for the customer
- Enhanced patient care
- Easing work
- Community pharmacy opportunities
Disadvantages of Online Pharmacy
There are apparent benefits to using online pharmacies; some disadvantages include lack of counseling, no-patient-provider interactions, and security.
Apart from the distinct disadvantages of online pharmacies. Patient counseling, which was a norm in retail pharmacies and helped in customer satisfaction of patients, is a total miss in online pharmacies.
In retail pharmacies, the pharmacist briefly explains the medication use, side effects, and additional risks as soon as a prescription is filled. And also answer any additional questions.
Counseling has many advantages, including avoiding self-medication, self-diagnosis, and substance use disorders. There is always a danger of inappropriate self-diagnosis & self-medication. There is a chance of potential encounter with drug-drug interactions, contraindications, or adverse effects.
Additionally, the lack of face-to-face interactions & cybersecurity were threats to online digital pharmacies.
One thing that must be noted about online pharmacies is that they can get the medicines at their doorstep; it is important to note they may or may not have internet access.
Counterfeit or Substandard Medicines
These days, medicines sold in the market are substandard or counterfeit. These types of medicines may be more common in online pharmacies. The effect of such medicines is dangerous. It is mostly seen in low and middle-class countries.
Poor quality medicines increase the risk of mortality and morbidity through adverse drug interactions, prolonged illness, and risk of treatment failure, as the genuine drug effect is not seen in the patient.
This, on the one hand, creates a health danger; on the other hand, it also affects the financial outcome. An estimated cost of 3.5 billion US dollars was lost in internet crime-related losses, of which 1 million is from healthcare-related crimes like insurance fraud, fabrication, and diversion of prescription medications.
The Union Health Ministry has developed draft rules for the sale of drugs through e-pharmacies. It aims to regulate the online sales of medicines across India and provide patients with accessibility to genuine drugs from authentic online portals. The e-pharmacy registration holder will have to comply with the Information Technology Act (21 of 2000).
Final Thoughts
The growth of e-pharmacy is due to the rise in the number of people who are using the internet, increased access to web-based and online services, and ever-increasing use of e-prescriptions in healthcare setups. E-pharmacy technology innovation has made a special place in the online healthcare space. Healthcare is undergoing a massive change and will be transformed to such a level that consumers will be empowered and informed.
