Pharmaceutical industry has witnessed global trends in online pharmacies. It is a major boom in online pharmacy sales which is a result of a pandemic.  The business has scaled up in this industry but it has also contributed to emerging trends. The rise of pandemic has strengthened the e-pharmacy world wide. 

1. Growing trust on pharmacists 

Eventually the role of pharmacist has become relevant now. A pharmacist acts as a bridge between a doctor and a buyer. It is a reliable source of medical information. Over the years the role of a pharmacist remained underutilized. Eventually, it got noticed with an increase in health conditions. 

• Dispensing of medications,
• Quality testing, 
• Formulating and re-formulating dosage forms, 
• Monitoring and reporting drug safety, 
• Addressing patient concerns. 

The role is indispensable which is why a patient becomes satisfied after the interaction with the pharmacist.

For. e.g. patients suffering from a normal cold and fever do ask a pharmacist  for an alternate supplement. Here, the knowledge and wisdom of pharmacists act as a bridge to help the patient with the right drug. 

2.OTC products in online pharmacies 

OTC (Over -The – Counter)  drugs fall under a wide category of  general ointments, supplements, Pain relievers, beauty products etc. These products do not need prescriptions. These category of drugs has made its strong online presence which has helped the patients to buy it directly. Such trends has helped he patients to save costs on medical costs  

Fyi, the categorization of drugs as prescribed or OTC is done by the respective govt’s of any country. The process takes a lot of research, analysis and through decision making. 

The global market of prescribed and OTC drugs will reach 202 Bn by 2027 with the growth of 16% CAGR. What a rise

Due to the rise in OTC, there are numerous pharmacies are running successfully and more yet to enter the market. The access to OTC drugs through the chain of e-pharmacies is a blessing for the patients in remote areas. Not all the areas  are covered but the reach is possible to maximum population within a regional base. The supply and delivery operates pin code wise and accordingly the orders are placed on time. A few pharmacies have ensured the online delivery of the drugs on the same day. Due to the rise in e-pharmacies , the access to OTC drugs is very much convenient and hassle free now. 

3. Challenges with Prescription  

Incidents occurred in the past where people have used fake prescriptions to get the drugs online. The results could be fatal and we urge all our followers not to encourage, support or follow such practices. Online pharmacies found such counterfeit documents challenging as the verification of these prescriptions takes a lot of time. There is a set of delivery time of drugs to which they have to stick.

If they do not maintain the schedule then they may face their dedicated customers shifting to other platforms. 

These e-pharmacies are looking forward to having a more convenient way to ensure authenticated documents and transparency.

During the COVID-19, e-pharmacy business has witnessed significant growth across the developing countries including India. Regional lockdowns and movement restrictions have led to the adoption of e-pharmacy mobile applications providing online medicine delivery services. Further, government initiatives supporting digital technologies to improve medicine access have positively impacted the e-pharmacy market growth. Therefore, several industry players operating in the e-pharmacy experienced an increase in the number of application subscriptions amid the pandemic.

Main objective of E-pharmacy also known as online pharmacy is to sale of drugs, or medication to the consumers.

Actually, platform is designed to provide consolidated online pharmacy services. E-pharmacy allows prescription refilling and delivery over the counter as well as specialty medicines to the patients.

Growing number of internet users are leading to the higher adoption of digital technologies. As it will offer unprecedented growth opportunities to the e-pharmacy industry

Significant increase in the number of online service providers have enhanced the accessibility to internet pharmacies in developing nations. During recent years, considerable increase in the number of internet users have further led to high adoption rate. Acc. to the report published by the World Telecommunication ITU, internet users were approx. 63% of the world’s population in 2021. Which represents an increase of 17% since 2019.

Therefore, ease of access to internet pharmacies through smartphones and availability of a range of pharmaceutical products are major factors driving the growth of the e-pharmacy market. Further, collaborations between the manufacturers and e-pharmacies to broaden their products accessibility and expand customer base via online channels will propel market growth during the projection period.

 Conclusion:

The market of E-pharmacy by product type is segmented into two markets. These are OTC products and prescription medicine. OTC products segment held over 70% market share in 2021. The industry players anticipated to witness substantial growth during the forecast period. Awareness and education regarding the primary medication for common diseases among the population will benefit the segment demand.

Availability of a range of OTC drugs for several frequently occurring diseases such as cold and flu will drive the e-pharmacy market statistics. Furthermore, the regulatory scenario, boosting Rx to OTC switch, will augment the segment revenue growth. 

According to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, prescription allergy drugs switch to OTC drugs. It leads to higher consumer preference due to better accessibility and cost effectiveness. Thus, the abovementioned factors will lead to greater product availability in the market.