The Quintessential factors of consumer preference towards purchasing online medicines
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) report, the internet has become an accepted way for purchasing products and services and buying medications online with no exception. Further, the International Pharmaceutical Federation report 2021 states that digital health has become an increasingly common practice in community pharmacies. The pharmacy sector continues to utilize technology to improve consumer access, choice, and affordability for managing medicine risks accounting for medicine safety and efficacy. Additionally, online pharmacies offer better pricing than offline stores, with high access to lower transaction and product costs, convenience, and greater anonymity for consumers. Online pharmacies are facilitated by the rapid expansion of the internet, the ever-increasing digital health, the shift towards self-diagnosing from direct doctor-patient relationships, consumer preference for online purchases, and distance selling.
On the other hand, as per the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd. report, today, consumers expect to access health information at home through online search tools. Therefore, pharmacists' medicine expertise through digital technology is critical for improving safe medicine supply at home. For example, Australia's health system is currently focussing on an ambitious transformation agenda supported by technological changes. These transformation agendas represent the third wave of digital transformation for pharmacists involving genuine, online, real-time interconnectivity of healthcare providers with consumers and other healthcare providers. The prescription medicines segment is expected to pace up with the growing prevalence of several chronic disorders and the subsequent increase in the demand for medications.
Within the report, the market is segmented into drug type, products, platform, and geography. By drug type, the market is further segmented into prescription medicines and over-the-counter products. On the basis of products, the market is segregated as medicines, personal care products, vitamins & supplements, and others. By platforms, the market is bifurcated into apps and websites. Geographically, the market is sub segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South & Central America, and Middle East & Africa.
Apps is a far-reaching technology that empowered the growth of futuristic innovations.
Apps such as mHealth tools are vital in allowing healthcare practices to be accessible through mobile communication technologies, offering healthcare information, collecting health data, observing patients, etc. In pharmacy practice, health awareness among pharmacists is paramount. Also, with mHealth expansion and advancement in technology, it offers a gateway for enabling patients and healthcare providers to gather support through mobile technology. Further, the International Pharmaceutical Federation states that pharmacists can utilize mHealth tools in pharmacy practice to offer high-quality services and patient care, with fitness for purpose and support available per the patient's specific needs. Moreover, mHealth enables pharmacists to access clinical patient information and references more precisely and flexibly. Therefore, incorporating apps such as mHealth into standard pharmacy practice provides more efficient, effective, and safer pharmaceutical care for patients.
COVID-19 impact is one of the major factors accelerating the digital pharmacy market growth.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2020 report, the effect of COVID-19 had a positive impact on overall market growth. For instance, online sales of medicines grew significantly in Germany, accounting for 18% in March 2020 compared to the previous year. Additionally, the SHOPS PLUS report states that, in August 2020, India faced over 2.7 million COVID-19 cases with actions to combat tuberculosis (TB) was challenging. Stringent lockdowns and limited access to healthcare providers resulted in fewer TB screenings and diagnoses and limited access to treatments and patient counseling. Therefore, with SHOPS Plus project in India partnership with the MedLife e-pharmacy model, was successful in the three cities of Madhya Pradesh in delivering TB testing services at patients' doorstep. For records, 886 door-step drug deliveries of TB medications were made, and 415 TB patients started receiving fixed-dose combination drugs. Such factors positively influence the overall market growth of digital pharmacy during the forecast period of 2022-2028.
Recent strategic developments in digital pharmacy market
The digital pharmacy market has undergone several significant developments, and a few of these have been mentioned below:
The digital pharmacy market is driven by several players by implementing strategic activities such as investments, new launches, mergers & acquisitions, and partnerships. Cigna, The Independent Pharmacy , The Kroger Co., Walgreen Co. , Apollo Pharmacy, DocMorris, Optum, Inc., Express Scripts, Hims & Hers Health, Inc. , and ropharmacy are among the prominent players operating in the market.
Target audience for the report:
Scope of the report:
In this report, the market has been segmented on the basis of:
Companies profiled
- Cigna
- The Independent Pharmacy
- The Kroger Co.
- Walgreen Co.
- Apollo Pharmacy
- DocMorris
- Optum, Inc.
- Express Scripts
- Hims & Hers Health, Inc.
- ropharmacy