By Natalie Tkachenko
For healthcare issues, the growth of online retailers highlights greater consumer demand for convenience and home delivery. Meanwhile, poll after poll shows that cost is the greatest concern for both consumers and suppliers.
These trends have led to the greater use of mobile apps for prescription drugs. This is especially obvious with patients who have chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure who increasingly count on extended pharmacy services to provide prescriptions to their homes and save money.
Pharmacy Delivery — Current Market Overview
In 2023, the drug delivery market is expected to reach 6.4% CAGR for the forecast period — 1,694.7 billion U.S. dollars compared to 1,244.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. The major factors of the bio-drugs market growth are the following:
- the growth of chronic diseases;
- technological progress;
- new products release.
Considering the whole pandemic situation your business needs to hit the right target – and deliver exactly what your customers expect. For instance, if your store delivers pills, the drug application must provide the right information about the drugs, properly distinguish drugs and deliver them.
In 2021, online drug distribution solutions are an excellent way to ensure that prescription medications are available to patients while maintaining social distance and helping to grow your business.
Pharmacy Delivery Services — Benefits
- Better medication adherence
Studies show that those who get their medicine delivered to their homes have a better chance of good grip than those who buy it in a brick-and-mortar pharmacy.
In reality, all drugs purchased separately in the pharmacy complicates the situation.
Imagine medicines delivered right up to the door, in a single package pre-sorted, daily and hourly organized, and with explicit instructions on how to properly take them, the process is immediately simplified.
- Easier for aged people
A big role of delivery services is because in the near future pharmacists will change the method of medicines delivery to patients.
Another advantage is the possibility to establish the time of delivery, which may be useful for some hectic lifestyle patients, who want their drugs to be delivered in the evening after returning home from work, or, more importantly, for elderly people with chronic diseases who can not buy medicines standing in line.
- Greater medication accuracy
The usage of advanced technologies in the correct filling of prescriptions, allows for more accurate delivery of medicines compared to brick-and-mortar pharmacies. You can be absolutely sure that you will receive the right drugs and dosages with a home delivery service. Thus, the risk of adverse effects and hospitalization can be lower.
According to the study, the error rate for delivering medicines to pharmacies was about 1 for every 50 prescriptions written (or 1.72%), the error rate for delivering medicines was less than 1 for every 1000 prescriptions (or only 0.075%).
- Saves money
Failure to comply with this rule alone costs Americans between $100 and $300 billion per year in preventable medical expenses. Huge, right?
Individual drug treatment programs allow you to pay only for the drugs you are actually using, and you may be less likely to face the cost of taking the wrong drugs.
Summing up the advantages of simple drug adherence, better accuracy, and lower costs, home delivery is a great way to control the cost of healthcare in the long run.
Pharmacy Delivery App — Must-have Features
Let’s cover the basic features, keeping in mind, that custom features greatly depend on your business model.
Medication Info — your online pharmacy store or app should have all the needed info for patients, including their consumption details and side effects, medication pre-packaged in the right dosages, and instructions that help consumers take their medicine in informed ways.
Upload Prescription allows your consumers to upload doctor’s prescriptions so that they can purchase their medication easily.
Request for Medicine gives your customer an opportunity to request medicine which is not currently available.
24/7 Online Chat is a key feature that can guide and help your consumers about medication whenever they are confused.
Suggest Substitutes provide customers with the added advantage of alternative medicine or a substitute medicine so that they can make a purchase in case of an emergency.
Ratings and Reviews — these functions will help the client build trust and order the medicine without hesitation, which of the suppliers is better.
Conclusion
With the COVID-19 situation in mind, in the near future delivery services will play a large role in changing how pharmacists get medications to patients. Customers need their medications to be live-saving with equipment, consultations, and any other medical support integrated into your pharmaceutical business with proper technical expertise. When these services trump the convenience of mail-order delivery, be sure you choose an app provider thoughtfully. And if you still don’t plan to choose the one — it’s time to think about an app estimation at least.
Author bio: Natalie Tkachenko, Healthcare Software Solutions Consultant at NIX United. Her experience in the software development industry helps Natalie support CIOs of Medical companies, CTOs and Founders of agile Healthtech startups in building technology solutions that make medical practice better and leverage digital transformation to meet patients’ expectations. Follow her on LinkedIn.
Company bio: NIX is a team 2000+ certified specialists, hailing from all over the globe, and delivering software solutions since 1994. We put our expertise and skills at the service of clients’ businesses to help them gain competitive advantages and industry leadership. Our methodology focused on finding a unique approach to each client, offering custom software solutions based on a committed end-to-end development cycle and cutting-edge technologies. The NIX expertise spans Healthcare, EdTech, Biopharmaceutics, Workforce Management, E-Commerce and other industries, to which we deliver high-quality results under quite reasonable terms.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
