With increased internet penetration reaching almost 4.33 million people, most of them use the internet to understand their health concerns and some of them also visit online pharmacy websites to buy medicine order medication.
One of my friends purchases medicines online and saves almost 25% on overall billing. And I was amazed when I got to know about 25% to 50% of discounts on medication through an online pharmacy app. Out of curiosity, I asked him a few questions about the experience of purchasing medicines online and how he checks the authenticity of any website for pharmacy shops or pharma apps. My research on the online pharmacy app and its business across the globe lead me to some exaggerated numbers.
I understand and also have read about different regulations on running a pharmacy business in different countries, but this figure demonstrates that we need to raise awareness on the safe purchase of medications from online pharmacies. I am also happy to know that there is also a community of people who questions the functioning of the pharma app or website for pharmacy shop.
Have you ever been influenced to order your medicines from an e-pharmacy website or online pharmacy app? How can you make sure you are going to get a good deal? Most importantly, how can you make sure the medicines you are purchasing are safe, legitimate, and approved by physicians or pharmacologists.
To bring this to your notice, in 2012, Andrew Stempler was jailed in Florida for running an online pharmacy selling counterfeit medicines. The FDA then intercepted medicine orders of medications that patients purchased from his online pharmacy store, promoting itself as a Canadian-based pharmacy. More than three-quarters of their orders arrived from different countries.
In another case, a united movement between Spanish police and Europe ended in the arrests of many people running an online pharmacy with no registered location and imported fake medicine from Asian countries and sold those to people throughout Europe. This incident stated that people across the globe need to be very cautious while buying medicines online.
Beware of the online pharmacy that:
- Let you purchase medicine order medication and do not ask for a signed valid medicine order
- Offers shipment of medications overseas
- Offer very low rates that appear too good to be authentic
- Send unsolicited emails offering cheap medications
- Do not protect customer's information including payment details
Consider Safety while purchasing medication online, while there are many safe and legitimate online pharmacy apps, there are even more unsafe and unauthorized e-pharmacy that target patients and put their health and financial details at high risk. The unauthorized online medical store app may sell medicines that do no harm at all or critically hurt you.
In addition to all these concerns, there are certain issues like the safekeeping of personal information and the legitimacy of the transaction while you choose to buy medicines from an online pharmacy app.
Though compared to conventional brick-and-mortar pharmacies, the e-pharmacy app provides various advantages and comfort at the same time. To list a few of them:
- Efficient delivery and a mere ordering process at your fingertips
- Practiced help and administration by pharmacists over messages or calls
- Convenience
However, it is highly recommended to identify and avoid ordering medicines from fake online chemist apps or a website for the pharmacy business. Two of the major concerns you should be focused on are,
1. Security from unauthorized medicine sellers
- For the sale and marketing, the risks and benefits associated with it should be tested. The existence of a precarious situation if the retail pharmacy store is shipping medicines exceeding the laws is needed too. One must select authenticated medicines because there are websites for pharmacy shops that distribute and import unapproved medicines.
- The heath of an individual can be jeopardized if they purchase medicines from online medicine apps distributing unauthorized medicines. They might be contaminated, counterfeit, and wrong medicines. Hence it needs to be authorized and approved by the government, licensed, and based in the state/country.
2. Knowledge about online pharmacy store
- It is crucial to get the up-to-date contact details like the address, email id, and telephone number of the retail pharmacy as the rough e-commerce website for pharmacies tends to become unreachable. You should always prefer to examine that the medicinestore exists, you also need to acquire details from standard lawful websites. And, it is suggested to avoid buying medicines from such online medical stores, that do not have an email id or even a contact number as reachability to them. Even if they have given an email id, it is an indication that the e-commerce website for pharmacy is a genuine one, and it also precludes one from gaining details and credentials about the customer and pharmacy store. It is also suggested to check details on a valid license.
EMedStore is a global pharma IT company dedicatedly to working for the pharma industry and has developed 370+ pharma apps in over 32 countries. understands these concerns. That is why we do know that safety does not come from all e-pharmacy apps that sell OTC or medicine order medicines.
Therefore, we have compiled some tips for recognizing legitimate online pharmacies and staying away from an unauthenticated chemist app.
How you can stay safe while purchasing medications online?
Some of the trusted authorities, the FDA, and safe. pharmacies have provided safety guidelines for ordering medications online through any of the online pharmacy platforms. Check those warning flags about a pharma website that may be unauthorized or risky.
A safe online pharmacy app:
- Requires a valid medicine order from a physician or licensed health care expert.
- Have a physical address and contact details on a website for the pharmacy app
- Is licensed by the state board of pharmacy in your state/country
- Makes sure that the medical and financial details their customers send are maintained private and secured
- Have a state-licensed pharmacist available to respond to inquiries
These are the reasons why trusted and authenticated pharmacies always prefer the best company for pharmacy app development. This benefits in owning an app for a pharmacy that adopts seamless integration of Artificial Intelligence including Machine Learning to implement the regulatory functioning of online pharmacy. As per a recent survey of 50 executives from healthcare companies, 25% of respondents felt the widespread adoption of AI in the pharma and healthcare industry. This seems to be the omnipresent part of the coming decades.
To summarize, whether you are a patient or a pharmacist, the more thoughtful use and implementation of technology enhancement in online pharmacy platform development can turn out to be a cost-effective and convenient replacement for conventional pharmacies. Learn more about the Future of Online Pharmacy In India.
Visit emedstore.in for queries on building or operating an online pharmacy. Experts at EMedStore will assist you with practiced guidance in any area of your online pharmacy business. We will answer any queries that you have in all the spheres of your pharmacy business. Contact us at info@emedstore.in or call us at +91 63676 58233.