Online pharmacies: Rushing to pace up growth
Online shopping has become a trending market in the past few years, which has a significant influence on the first city market model. The local vendors are the primary victims of this small but significant changes happening in the underlying business model.
The transformation of the way of purchasing has a visual impact on traditional retailers, who survives with high street retrenches along with the market. The gradual change towards online has impacted all the small retailers, including pharmacies.
Due to digitisation and ease of purchasing, a large number of people are opting internet over a market growl, even for buying medicines, wellbeing products and health advisory.
The primary business model is a dying trend, and even the traditional medical practitioners market has been hijacked by online marketing. The whole linearity of the market has been disturbed, from the patients to the general practitioner, the medicine suppliers and the nearby pharmacists.
The business of these small traders are at stake; the little income they earned from providing service has been sabotaged. Most of the health-related products need a steady flow of purchasers, send by the medical practitioners.
The disruption created by online marketing can be seen in the disturbed traditional model; the control and choices given to the customers are a blessing, helping them to manage their health and wellbeing.
On the other hand, it also raises concern for the offline pharmacies, pushing them to think out of the box to survive in the community, by broadening their services to attract customers towards them.
How online pharmacies influences on the traditional market
Almost two decades earlier, no one has ever imagined this significant impact of online marketing, according to a survey conducted in the united kingdom, nearly 25%of people agreed to use online sites for buying pharmaceutical products.
The study conducted under YouGov, the General Pharmaceutical Council, it was observed that around 350 local pharmacies had been registred on online marketing portals, out of which Pharmacy2U is the largest, catered around 300,000 patients in 12 months.
The company is also coming out with its new facility with a capacity of dispencing 7.5 million items in a month.
How the NHS is learning from online pharmacies?
The trending online market has been a platform for the newcomers, and people are using this trend to manage their health and well being.
According to studies, in United States and the UK, it is concluded that four out of five people consult their family doctors before going to the hospital.
One of the great things is that nowadays many online pharmacies offer online doctor consultation where you can online check out your health and even get a prescription and medication shipped to your address.
These pharmacies are becoming very popular, and the best example is at Get Up Buddy United Kingdom pharmacy review website, where they have reviewed best pharmacies that are available to United Kingdom customers.
In contrast, the most important for the patient is not to surf the internet for symptoms.where as NHS is encouraging internet use in medical facilities, by focussing on the brighter side, engaging more with their patients, for booking consultations, appointments and other essential services.
Babylon and other digital services are being used to connect the patient to the NHS.
The traditional pharmacies should rethink about their role in NHS And social care as this trend ought to be on the increase as time passes by.
The rising the profile of the community pharmacy
Inoue to the community pharmacies, NHS is encouraging their patients to use offline purchasing of pharmaceutical products for non-urgent measures. The independent training of the pharmacists will help the general practitioners to focus on complex issues.
The trend will also release the burden of readmissions, as the pharmacies will provide them with care plans and services as and when required. Matt Hancock, the health secretary of the UK, plans to integrate community pharmacies with health and care facilities.
According to Matt Hancock, the patients should visit the pharmacies as first aid before going to a health facility for minor alignments. It is a new call for the future, helps in reducing the predicted burden on the current health care and pharmaceutical facilities.
