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@faizahmed12
Optimize your clinic’s operations and elevate the standards of patient care. EMed PharmaTech is a prominent clinic app development company providing the best clinic mobile app, clinic consultation app, medical app, software, and website development services at an affordable cost. The clinic app aims to optimize hospitals’ workflow and improve patient satisfaction.
Source: https://www.emedstore.in/clinic-app-development
EMedStore provides doctor app development services, to manage online appointments easily and streamline operations to expand your reach. Their app developers are specialized for best doctor consultation app development, doctor website development which will help to track patient records, video interaction with patients, prescribe them medicines and medical stores, etc...
Source: https://www.emedstore.in/doctor-app-development
EMedStore - a hospital app and website development company can provide you with the perfect app to streamline the activities of your institution. They offer hospital app development services that can change the face of how medical attention is provided to patients today. It will also help hospitals become more streamlined in delivering their services and will save a massive amount of money and resources.
Source: https://www.emedstore.in/hospital-app-development
By looking at the key factors affecting Telemedicine, we analyze the role of Telemedicine in global market growth. We also look at the forecast and future trends.
Find out legal processes, costs, and factors involved in starting a wholesale pharmacy business in India. Learn about how to start an online marketplace.
Starting a wholesale pharmacy business in India has certain prerequisites. In this post, pharmacy app developers at EMed Pharmatech have covered everything starting from how you can start your pharmacy business to all the legal requirements and eligibility for starting a business as a seller of medicine.
Discover how telemedicine empowers people to access better healthcare and learn more about opportunities arisen by telemedicine app development.
Online medicine apps and ePharmacy app development offer many advantages to the customer and to the pharmacy shop owner as well. Learn about those advantages briefly in this article.
There is growing adoption of online medicine apps and ePharmacy app development due to plenty of advantages it offers to the customer and to the pharmacy shop owner as well. In this article, learn more about why this is the perfect time to go online.
In this article, let’s explore the features of our solution for pharmacies that offer important features to enable customer convenience and business expansion.
Online medicine apps and ePharmacy app development offer many advantages to the customer and to the pharmacy shop owner as well. Learn about those advantages briefly in this article.
There is growing adoption of online medicine apps and ePharmacy app development due to plenty of advantages it offers to the customer and to the pharmacy shop owner as well. In this article, learn more about why this is the perfect time to go online.
It’s time for Healthcare Services to Move Online
Technology has always influenced the way of living for individuals and the way of doing for businesses, and health care is no exception to this. In fact, the pharma industry has not been far behind in adopting the technology to optimize its operations. The digitization of medical facilities has ensured growth and ease. The rise of online pharmacy apps and telemedicine have narrowed the gap between patients and doctors.
To safeguard the health of the patients and to ensure accessibility, the healthcare industry must move online. However, to meet the increased demand and to store the data of patients securely and discreetly, the industry needs to have a robust app architect that can ensure data privacy.
Over the past years, technology - especially e-commerce platforms have become integral parts of our lives. Starting from the shopping for the non-essential items like clothing, sports products etc. to purchase the essential items like medical equipment and health products, the online shopping pattern of the consumers have evolved. And the situation of the COVID-19 has certainly boosted this surge towards online platforms, notably for the pharmacy domain.
Why customers are choosing to purchase their medicines online?
Today the customers are already purchasing other items online. So, it is not new for them to purchase medicines online. Also, ordering medicines from their phones allows them to have both - the luxury of not leaving their home and of course, the medicines. And many times they get a decent discount too.
Putting these luxuries aside, people are hesitant to step out to purchase medicines online owing to the risks associated with coming in contact with patients suffering from infectious diseases.
The online health industry is witnessing a sudden rise in its demand as more people are turning to health apps to get online consultation, to purchase medicines, to connect with medical experts, and much more.
To satisfy your customers, you need to cater to their needs and provide them with online medicines.
After developing your ePharmacy app, you can utilize push notification and social media to attract new customers.
How to utilize social media to attract more customers?
According to LiveWorld, “94% of patients report that social media has some impact on their healthcare decisions, with more than 70% citing social media as a primary go-to resource for staying on top of health-related topics.”
There is a growing recognition that social media is an effective way to increase engagement and to establish a meaningful dialogue with your customers. To utilize social media to its fullest, you can post your discount offers, posters and advertisements across various channels.
How to develop your own app for your pharmacy business?
No matter whether you are a pharmacy owner, wholesale owner or pharmacy manufacturer, as a healthcare service provider if you want to be part of this enticing and growing field, you need to have a functional app and a website. And a sound marketing strategy will allow you to prosper.
Whatever your needs must be, we are here to help you with our 10+ years of experience in the domain of Pharma IT. You can build a high-quality android app, iOS app and a website for your business with us. Want to experience why clients across the globe are relying on our services for their online platform development needs? Get your free demo here.
Call +91 97377 12429 / +91 72020 97862
Mail us at [email protected]
Top Features of our Online Pharmacy App
Designing and developing a good app for pharmacies is a tough task because it consists of both over the counter (OTC) products and prescription drugs. But, having considerable experience in pharmacy website development and pharmacy app development, and experience of working in more than 32 countries and 10+ years at our disposal we have made online pharmacy solutions covering all the important features related to pharmacies.
Medicine delivery apps offer many advantages to all the stakeholders involved. The customers and pharmacy owners have a lot to gain by switching to online pharmacies. And to ensure that all your customers access your online pharmacy, it is recommended practice to have an android app, iOS app and a website.
Let's explore the features of our solution for pharmacies that offer important features to enable customer convenience and business expansion.
User Login and Signup:
Simplified interface for the onboarding customers and login option for registered customers.
Forgot & Reset Password:
If you suspect unauthorized login or you want to change your password, you can easily do that from here.
Search & Buy Medicine:
With the EMedStore pharmacy app, customers don’t have to scroll through the catalogue of all the medicines, they can easily search for what they want. You can even see the composition and brands of the medicine before you can put them in your cart and buy them.
With the help of our advanced search algorithm, customers can search and compare medicines.
Salt/Drug Info:
Find salt composition and useful information about the medicines before buying them.
Find a substitute product:
Customers can find cheaper substitute products to prescribed drugs based on composition/salt.
Upload Prescription:
The easy option to upload a prescription directly from your phone makes it easy for the clients to take a photo and upload it immediately. Clients can choose the photo from the gallery also. This feature is vital for consumers as well as pharmacy owners as it ensures that pharmacy owners are free from liability and consumers also get what they want.
Keep your prescription securely:
We always keep your prescription securely. So, even if you misplace your physical prescription you can always refer to a digital copy of your prescription securely stored in our servers.
Categories:
Here pharmacy store owners can classify products into various categories like ‘Top Selling Products’, ‘Seasonal Products’, etc. and give them preference to show them on the front page. You can provide discounts to specific products or categories.
Sort and Filter options:
Upon searching medicines they can set filters like X% discounts. They can also set a price range and choose medicines from selected brands also.
In Sort options, They have the standard interface, Recommended option, Name wise sorting, Price (Low - High) as well as Price (High - Low) options.
Manage Orders:
This section allows you to see your order status, record your order history, and also allows you to easily re-order. Order information is fairly detailed and contains all the relevant factors like order ID, Order date, Delivery date, Amount, Discount, Coupon details, Order items, Attached prescription, etc.
Manage Profile:
Each client can sign up with their id and password so it is more organized and easier for you as well as them to manage their accounts. Here users can update their details also.
My Addresses:
Have more than one address? Don’t worry. Users can manage their multiple addresses from there. They can modify their address also. During checkout, they can choose where to deliver their order.
Refill management:
Customers can choose to set Refill Medicine and be assured that they never run out of essential medicines. Customers have the option to modify the schedule of refills.
Set Reminders:
Never forget to take your medication with this feature. This feature allows users to set reminders with descriptions so that they always take their medicines on time. Later on, you can modify your reminders also.
Wallet Support:
Customers can load balance conveniently in the ‘My Wallet.’ This enables users to make hassle-free orders. They do not have to enter OTP or enter card details every time they make a purchase.
This feature allows pharmacy owners to refund directly into the wallet in a seamless manner. They can leverage customers to use the ‘My Wallet’ feature by giving promotional discounts and coupons.
Refer & Earn:
Spread the word easily. Easy sharing of the app enables clients to share the app with prospective customers directly from the App itself.
Initially, You can encourage customers to share the app with others by providing them with credits based on the number of referred customers joined.
Aggregate all your social media accounts into the app:
For greater convenience, You can aggregate all your social media accounts into one place. The customers can follow your social media pages directly from there.
Send Feedback:
The easy to send feedback option gives you a chance to get live feedback from your clients and improve your services accordingly.
Faqs:
Answering the same questions over and over again is a hideous task. To overcome this, We have added FAQ’s tab fairly visible in the menu so you don’t have to answer the same questions repeatedly.
About us:
You can put information about your store and your address in this tab. You have complete authority to write whatever you want about yourself.
Ratings:
Customers can share their experience by posting their ratings on the Play Store.
Everything designed just for YOU.
The Apps and websites are equipped with all the necessary features that may come in handy for pharmacy shop owners as well as customers. On top of that, Our products can be tweaked to suit client requirements.
Payment Support:
Our Apps and websites support many payment gateways so that your customers can always avail coupons of various promotional offers from different payment gateways like Paytm, PayPal, etc.
Privacy:
We give utmost respect to user privacy. Security of user data is robust which is evident from the fact that our data has never been breached or compromised in any way. We also comply with GDPR and other relevant local rules and regulations.
Customer-friendly intuitive UI:
We have designed our User Interface in such a way that it is easily accessible to the customers and clients alike. Furthermore, over the years we have made some crucial changes to our products to make them efficient.
Enticing Graphics and Lucid Animations:
We have crafted enticing in-app graphics to make them enticing to the consumers. This ensures that customers never get bored and thoroughly enjoy their shopping experience. This prompts them to spend more time on the app. To ensure customer satisfaction we have included lucid animations in the App.
Cost-efficient:
We are determined to provide reliable, secure, and affordable solutions to our clients. We offer a superior online shopping experience, which includes ease of navigation and absolute transactional security with affordable pricing.
24*7 Support:
Our team of highly skilled professionals will always be there to help you, whenever you need them, even after delivery of the product. We have call support, chat support, and also email support.
After Sales Support:
To facilitate the smooth work of the platform after its deployment, EMedStore will take care of all the technical issues including bug fixes. Our team of Digital marketing executives and Technical support executives will be there to provide after-sales support.
Up to Date, Always!
We keep all our software up to date with relevant trends and technologies. So that our clients do not have to worry about being left behind.
Robust Architect:
When you take your business online, Your pharmacy app is well poised to receive traffic en masse, and we know that! And we have prepared for that. Our Apps and websites are well equipped to handle sudden and large traffics. So, no matter how many orders you get, Your app is never going to crash.
Expand your Business:
Good online pharmacy app should integrate all these important points.
We help you to take your business online and expand your market reach. We believe in consistent experience, So no matter whether you use our Android app, iOS app, or the Website you will enjoy our trademark lucid experience on all the platforms. Take the free demo of our services here, that will help you to expand your user base.
Call +91 97377 12429 / +91 72020 97862
Mail us at [email protected]
Why your Pharmacy should become ePharmacy?
India is rapidly moving towards digital, or we can say that it has already become digital. The digital infrastructure is inclusive of online shopping, online payment, online healthcare among others. It is all about making the lives of people easier with the help of technology. Now it covers almost all aspects of life, and is quickly becoming mainstream and getting good response from the customers.
The reasons behind this quick adoption are simple: Convenience and Cost-effectiveness. We will cover these topics in details in later part of this article. Before we begin to explore these reasons let’s first talk about the adoption of technology in general.
How has technology been adopted across India?
Over the past years, technology - especially e-commerce platform - has become an integral part of our lives. Starting from the shopping for the non-essential items like clothing, sports products etc. to purchase the essential items like medical equipment and health products, the online shopping pattern of the consumers have evolved. And the situation of the COVID-19 has certainly boosted this surge towards online platforms, notably for the pharmacy domain.
One article in McKinsey urged the Indian companies to adopt the digital wave, “Indian consumers have strongly embraced digital technologies. Now India’s companies must follow suit.”
The sudden surge towards the online market has led to many businesses in rethinking their business model. Keeping in mind the various health repercussions associated with going out, this surge towards digital becomes a necessary one.
This growth is not limited to online pharmacy platforms only, but it also covers telemedicine apps, doctor consultation and other emerging technologies.
A 2019 report by Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, established that 76% of healthcare professional in India are already using digital health records in their practice, making India one of the early countries to adopt this. And this is the reason why ePharmacy website development, ePharmacy app development are on the rise today.
Convenience:
Today the customers are already purchasing other items online. So, it is not new for them to purchase medicines online. Also, ordering medicines from their phones allows them to have both - the luxury of not having to leave their home.
The healthcare industry - equipped with the latest technology - is well poised to deliver convenient and meaningful experiences from the patient’s home.
Cost-effectiveness:
Switching to online pharmacies allows pharmacy owners to cut significant operational costs, so they are providing additional discounts to the customers. These frequent discounts and offers attract more customers to use the ePharmacy apps.
Build your own app:
No matter whether you are a pharmacy owner, wholesale owner or pharmacy manufacturer, as a healthcare service provider if you want to be part of this enticing and growing field, you need to have a functional app and a website. And a sound marketing strategy will allow you to prosper.
Whatever your needs must be, we are here to help you with our 10+ years of experience in the domain of Pharma IT. You can build a high-quality android app, iOS app and a website for your business with us. Want to experience why clients across the globe are relying on our services for their online platform development needs? Get your free demo here.
Call +91 97377 12429 / +91 72020 97862
Mail us at [email protected]
How Indian E-pharmacies Operate and What are the Rules and Regulations Governing Them?
Many factors have contributed to the adoption, growth, and surge of e-pharmacies across the globe. Ever-changing customer preferences, COVID-19, increased technological awareness, and enhanced convenience is the most important factors that have enabled and sustained this growth in many countries. In India, however, wide adoption of digital services, health consciousness and a growing number of total smartphone users have further accelerated their acceptance in mainstream India.
The reception e-pharmacies have received from the users in India post-covid period is nothing short of extraordinary. The current boom of demand in e-pharmacy platforms has led to many customers completely switching to online pharmacies.
According to the white paper published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), “Among Patients with Chronic Diseases, the acceptability for e-Pharmacy as an important prospect has been found to be higher, with 94% of the respondents currently buying medicines for chronic diseases showing the inclination to accept e-Pharmacy in the future, reluctance toward the same being displayed by only 6% of the sample.”
So it is clear that when it comes to the customers, they are not reluctant in buying their medications from the e-pharmacies. But how well the facilitators i.e. pharmacy owners respond to this rising demand remains to be seen. Most of the pharmacy owners want to incorporate online pharmacies into their existing business but are perplexed owing to the vague rules and lack of clarity about this particular business model. To make things easier for the pharmacy owners, we have covered all the e-pharmacy rules that are in force in this article.
Before we begin to delve into the rules and regulations concerning the e-pharmacies, it is better to take a brief look at the different models of e-pharmacies in India.
The different models of e-pharmacies:
1. 'Online-only’ pharmacy:
It sells medicines directly
It has its inventory
It requires a retail pharmacy license
Workflow: Receive order > Verify prescription > Ship Order > Deliver Order
2. A digital twin of ‘Brick-and-Mortar’ pharmacy:
Serves as an online extension of Brick-and-Mortar pharmacies
It may or may not operate its delivery chain
It requires a retail pharmacy license
Workflow: Receive order > Verify prescription > Ship Order > Deliver Order
3. E-pharma marketplace:
Doesn’t sell medicines directly, acts as a facilitator between a buyer and a seller
It relies on third-party sellers
It connects the local pharmacies to customers
It delivers medicine from the local pharmacies
It doesn’t require a retail pharmacy license
Workflow: Receive order > Forward the order to a pharmacy > Pharmacy verifies prescription > Receive confirmation > Ship Order > Deliver Order
The e-pharmacies are not regulated by hard and fast rules and regulations, and there are no laws designed to govern e-pharmacies specifically. The absence of clear regulations leaves space for interpretation and this has created some misconception about the e-pharmacies.
The need for clear regulations is catalyzed by the fact that in India several rules governing pharmacies and e-commerce are applied to the e-pharmacies.
The list of relevant laws includes, but is not limited to the following rules:
1. Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (D&C Act)
Defines the pharmacies and lays fundamental guidelines for the operation of drugs and cosmetics. It also mandates a retail license to sell the drugs on the basis of a valid prescription. 2. Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 (D&C Rule)
Regulates manufacturing, sale, distribution, import, and advertisements of drugs and cosmetics.
Prescribes and ensures product and labeling standards. 3. Pharmacy Act, 1948
Regulates the pharmacy profession as a whole and sets rules and extent of punishment for an offense. 4. Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954 Regulates advertisements of drugs relating to certain conditions and diseases. 5. Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Regulates operations, including sales, relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and provides stringent punishments for matters related thereof.
6. Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act)
Regulates the bodies or persons who deal with sensitive data of all kinds. Implement measures to ensure data privacy and penalizes disclosure of personal information without consent.
It was further amended in 2011 as Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 to include medical records and history, biometric information, physical, physiological and mental health condition; and other such sensitive data.
7. Indian Medical Council Code of Ethics Regulations, 2002 (MCI Code)
Regulates professional conduct of registered medical practitioners in India, prescribes acceptable medical practices and provides penalties for the violation of these regulations.
Before we set out to understand the draft rules for e-pharmacies, it is fruitful to get a brief overview of the various government agencies governing the pharmacy market.
The list of such regulatory agencies is as follows:
1. Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
Responsibility: Setting and ensuring the quality of standards for drugs.
2. State Drug Standard Control Organisation
Responsibility: Regulating the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of drugs in the respective states.
3.The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)
Responsibility: Heading the CDSCO and carries out the licensing and controlling function of CDSCO.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, released a draft vide its notification G.S.R. 817(E), dated 28th August 2018 aiming to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules,1945 to better govern the e-pharmacies.
The ministry concerned had floated this draft and stipulated a time period of 45 days for objections and suggestions from all the stakeholders involved. But, the rules are yet to come into force. And therefore the e-pharmacies in India are still governed mostly by existing laws that govern brick-and-mortar pharmacies. In simpler terms, it means that the law doesn’t distinguish e-pharmacies from brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
Although these rules are yet to be finalized and are yet to become a law, taking a deep dive into this draft will give us important insights into how the government intends to regulate e-pharmacies in the future.
These draft rules aimed to properly define the online sale of medicines, e-prescription and sought clarity on what type of licenses e-pharmacies would need from regulators to operate. Some of the noteworthy revisions suggested in the draft rules are as follows:
1. Definition of ‘e-pharmacy’:
For the first time, the term ‘e-pharmacy’ was defined; It was accurately defined as a business of distribution or sale, stock, exhibit or offer for sale of drugs through a web portal or any other electronic mode.
2. Registration of e-pharmacy:
The rules require that any person intending to conduct an e-pharmacy business needs to mandatorily apply for registration to the central licensing authority by filling the form 18AA along with furnishing required documents and making a payment of INR 50,000.
The validity of the registration would be three years from the date of issue. After the expiration, the pharmacist is required to renew the license.
3. Audit:
The draft rules also make clear provision for a periodic inspection of the business. The e-pharmacy registration holder must allow the inspection by the authorized team of central licensing authority every two years.
4. Data Localisation:
According to the draft, e-pharmacies are required to establish the e-pharmacy portal through which they conduct business in India and shall keep the data generated localized.
These rules also specify that the data generated or mirrored through the e-pharmacy portal shall not be sent or stored outside India.
5. Confidentiality of the Information:
The e-pharmacies are required to keep all the details of its customers discreetly. Further, they are also required to disclose these details to the concerned government for public health purposes.
6. Helpline and Grievance Redressal:
The e-pharmacy registration holder will have to set up a support and grievance redressal mechanism for a minimum period of 12 hours a day for the 7 days of a week, and a registered pharmacist is required to answer the customer queries.
7. Central License:
The draft rules mentioned a provision of a central license from the country’s apex drug regulator, to allow them to operate across the country.
According to a report from the Indian Express, “India’s drug regulations mandate retailers to have a license to dispense medicines from the state in which they are being sold. This may have been a reason behind Amazon restricting its pharmacy operations to Bengaluru at present.”
8. Regulatory Authority:
These draft rules propose to appoint a central licensing authority i.e. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to replace state drug regulators. DCGI will be the sole authority for granting approvals with a validity of three years.
By the means of an extraordinary gazette vide CG-DL-E-26032020-218928 dated 26th March 2020, the ministry of health and family welfare made some formal rules for the doorstep delivery of drugs. It dictated that the drugs for which a prescription is required shall be sold based on receipt of prescription physically or through e-mail, subject to the licensee providing an email ID for registration. Furthermore, it decreed that the bill or cash memo shall be sent by the return email, and records of all such transactions shall be maintained by the licensee.
What is the current status of this draft?
In the same article from the Indian Express, it is reported that “In June-2019, these draft rules were pushed to two expert committees by India’s apex drug regulatory body under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.”
But unfortunately, we are yet to see the outcome of the said meetings. Whatever the outcome may be, the pharmacists across the country would like to see the separate rules for the e-pharmacies be formed and implemented as soon as possible.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has encouraged the government, to define policies and guidelines for e-pharmacies and come up with a clear-cut operating model.
Want guidance for e-pharmacies?
Contact EMed Pharmatech, an indigenous pharma IT company and a global leader in e-pharmacy app development. We provide state-of-the-art iOS app, Android app, and a website to enable you to sell medicines online. So far, we have made more than 450 such projects and we have our presence in 35+ countries. To see why clients across the globe are relying on our services, get your free demo here.
Contact us to develop your online pharmacy application: Call +91 97377 12429 / +91 72020 97862
Have a query? Mail us at [email protected]
How to Implement Telemedicine in Hospitals or Clinics in 8 easy steps?
The demand for Telemedicine is exponentially rising from the patients, and therefore Hospitals and Clinics have started to look for Telemedicine platform development. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), or Telemedicine as it is known, is beneficial for the doctors and customers. It is also referred to as Online Doctor Consultation and Mobile Health Communication (mHealth).
Online doctor consultation is considered an efficient way of saving time and money. It is especially beneficial for the hospitals located in distant locations where mobility may be an issue as they can serve customers anytime from anywhere with ease.
What is Telemedicine?
Broadly, it provides cost-effective and accessible healthcare to patients with the latest communication and internet technologies.
World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as:
"The delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communications technologies for the exchange of valid information for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and the continuing education of healthcare workers, to advance the health of individuals and communities."
Different modes of Telemedicine:
Multiple modes of communication can be provided to facilitate Telemedicine. This includes different communication methods like Video, Audio, and Text (Chat, E-mail, Messaging, etc.) 1. Online Consultation:
In this mode, patients can connect with the doctor virtually for medical consultation. There is no need to step outside for that.
2. Home Visit:
Here, patients can request their preferred doctor's home. They need to confirm and schedule the appointment. This is very useful when a patient has severe mobility issues.
3. Clinic Visit:
In this mode, patients can book their prior appointment at the clinic to avoid having to stand in long waiting lines.
Telemedicine has plenty of benefits for the patients as well as hospitals. To know about the benefits of Telemedicine in remote areas, visit our blog.
So far, we have learned what Telemedicine is and what are the different modes of operation. Implementing a Telemedicine platform in your hospitals or clinics is a process that involves many steps. Now let us look at the steps involved in implementing Telemedicine in your clinic or hospital. 1. Define your goals
Firstly, you need to identify the needs of your hospital or clinic and be clear about what you want to achieve by implementing a Telemedicine platform. This ensures that your goals align with your expectations. For example, your goals for Telemedicine implementation may include:
Limit clinician exposure to COVID-19 and minimize the risk of infection
Increase clinical capacity to manage the surge of patients
Extend access to consultations from the specialists
Increase patient engagement
Provide better quality patient care
Implementing a Telemedicine platform is to maximize the clinic's utility and efficiency and provide quality services. Establish short term and long term goals and ways to achieve them.
2. Frame Viable Strategy
Develop a clear strategy to align your objectives for this program with the operation of your clinic, and communicate the strategy to the staff members to avoid any misunderstanding. For example, if you want to focus more on video consultation and less on audio or other modes of operation, make staff members aware of that.
Strategize how you meet the financial necessities, how you manage the infrastructural resources, data and other vital assets. Also, define and periodically assess the matrices to measure the program’s outcome.
3. Develop a timeline for implementation
The clinic should outline the timeline for the different stages of the project. The Telemedicine platform implementation includes many factors, including market assessment, the goal of your organization, development of the platform itself, etc.
This predefined timeframe for all the steps will enable the smooth implementation of the platform. It will also give the Telemedicine platform development company sufficient time for quality assurance and testing.
4. Telemedicine Platform Development
Decide whether you want to develop a Telemedicine solution in-house if you have an internal IT Team or want to hire a Telemedicine platform development company. If you lack expertise in the healthcare IT field, chances are you will find many hurdles in understanding and complying with the rules and regulations pertaining to Telemedicine. That is why it is advisable to consult with a healthcare IT expert company as an external technology partner so that you can work hassle-free on your existing workflow.
When selecting the perfect vendor for Telemedicine platform development, there are many things that you should keep in mind. Analyze the pros and cons offered by all the alternatives. To choose the right development partner, use the steps mentioned below to ensure you select the ideal technology partner.
Understand the features offered by the Telemedicine Platform and make sure all your requirements are covered.
What type of technical support will you get during and after the deployment of the platform?
Whether your data will be securely stored as per HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) or not.
The platform needs to be compliant with the various privacy and security regulations to protect the critical health information of the users.
Verify the traffic handling capacity or scalability of the platform.
Whether the platform is easy-to-use or not. For easy adaptability, the platform should have a minimum learning curve.
Whether the platform can be customized in case of your organization-specific needs?
Identify the timeline to develop, test, and deploy the Telemedicine platform and verify whether it is in line with the intended implementation timeline of your organization.
Clarify the total cost of the solution, including development and Support. Take your development partner’s help to identify the recurring cost of Hosting Server and any 3rd party integration like payment gateway, Live Video SDK, etc.
Ensure that the development partner you select can provide a stable, scalable, secure, usable, and bug-free platform using the latest technology. It is a long-term partner who can support you technically.
5. Create a visually appealing platform
The Telemedicine Program has particularly unique needs, such as a robust platform and a lucid user interface (UI). The UI should be as simple as possible to make sure that users don't face any difficulty in using your platform. With minimum clicks, staff and patients should access the required features or information. In addition to visually appealing, the platform should be easy-to-use.
6. Train staff members
As Telemedicine technology is relatively new, it is good to train the staff members and teach them how to use it for maximum efficiency. The training should encompass all the aspects relating to Telemedicine.
7. Proper Marketing
When your clinic successfully implements Telemedicine, it needs to market to the broader audience about this new offering. Otherwise, very few people will get to know about it and benefit from it. Keep your targeted user base in mind while marketing your platform and advertise how to use your platform.
8. Monitoring and Enhancement
Hospitals or Clinics should monitor the results of telemedicine implementation over time to determine whether additional improvements are required or not. Evaluate the outcome against your predefined matrices to understand the way the platform growth fares from your expectations. This assessment may also give you an idea about whether to expand your services or retract them.
After this assessment, sometimes you would like to add new functions in the platform that were absent earlier. the addition of new functions is termed software enhancement. The enhancement of the platform post-deployment is a process that involves many steps. Constant debugging, monitoring, and maintenance of the platform ensure the smooth operation of the platform.
Do you want to Implement Telemedicine in your Hospital?
Are you looking for a HIPAA-compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Telemedicine platform? We are a domain expert in the healthcare IT field and have more than 10 years of experience in providing comprehensive solutions for healthcare needs. We have made 450+ apps and websites for this domain across 35 countries.
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Online Pharmacy Solution: By Online Medicine Delivery You Can Increase Your Pharmacy Sales
The growth of the Internet and smartphone users have prompted many traditional businesses to integrate technology into their business operations, which enables them to serve customers efficiently and optimize their supply chain and other business tasks. During the past few years, India has seen tremendous growth in regular smartphone users and the number of online users. These two factors have contributed to the rise of eCommerce platforms developments and the internet being an accepted way of purchasing products.
Purchasing medicines and medical equipment are no exceptions to this. Owing to the various patient safety risks associated with going out to purchase the medicines, the particular segment of online medicines has seen a surge in its user base and therefore online medicine delivery is becoming a new norm.
Marketing research firm techARC reported that as of December 2019, India had more than 500 million smartphone users. This was a 15 percent increase from 2018. It also reported that "1 in every 3 smartphone users shops online in India."
The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) projects the total smartphone users in India to reach 83 crores by 2022.
This is such a big market and also one that is growing. So it has good potential to serve customers. Indian companies have a lot to gain by switching to online. One article in McKinsey urged the Indian companies to adopt the wave of digital adoption, saying “Indian consumers have strongly embraced digital technologies. Now India’s companies must follow suit.”
During this COVID-19 related lockdown, demand for e-pharmacies has skyrocketed. As one article in Financial Express put it, “Households ordering medicines from e-pharmacy startups grew 2.5x amid lockdown; to grow 8x in 4 years.”
It further stated that “During the lockdown period, e-pharmacies regularly served approximately 88 lakh households in India, growing from an earlier figure of 35 lakh households.”
So, when it comes to e-pharmacies there is no demand issue. Demand is at an all-time high, but whether the pharmacy shop owners rise to the occasion and provide online medicine delivery remains to be seen.
Why Online Pharma Applications are on the rise?
Increased convenience: Online pharmacy applications enable customers to order medicines through their smartphones. Customers nowadays prefer to buy medicines without going outside, this is facilitated by online pharma applications.
Cost-effectiveness: Online pharmacies are offering huge discounts on the purchase of medicines. And some pharmacies also offer a ‘refer & earn’ program, wherein customers get an additional discount if their referrals are successful.
How Online Pharmacy Solutions increase your sales?
By adopting online pharmacy solution, the pharmacy shop owner gets dual benefits. The existing sales of their pharmacies will increase because their offline store will remain operational and their online website or app will give them more exposure in the market.
An online pharmacy will enable them to start online medicine delivery and serve a broader customer base.
What is the procedure to start selling medicines online?
To start an online pharmacy, you need to understand relevant rules and regulations and follow these steps.
1. Understand the laws governing online pharmacies
All these complexities have compelled different countries to set up different rules and regulations. Some countries don’t distinguish between online pharmacies and offline pharmacies. So, some countries have the same rules intending to govern and control physical pharmacy stores and online pharmacies. These rules are fixated on keeping brick and mortar pharmacy stores in mind.
Although some countries have recognized the term ‘online pharmacy’ as a different entity, not all the rules have been made clear enough for the governance of pharmacies. There are certain undefined or grey areas in the laws of certain countries.
In some countries, the local statutory body inspects your premises and gives approval for the online pharmacy. Whereas in other countries, just having a registered pharmacist is all you need to start selling medicines online.
2. Secure your brand name and the domain name
To start selling online, one needs to have a website, or an app, or both.
For the website, it is essential to register your brand name independently and purchase the domain pertaining to that name. It is advised to perform this action as soon as possible to ensure there is no conflict in ownership of your domain name.
You can purchase .com, .in, or any other domain that best suits your needs. You need to purchase an App Store and a Google Play Store account also.
3. Finalize the structure of your business and get relevant licenses
To start an online pharmacy, it is required to have a registered drug specialist. In India, if you have a physical pharmacy store, chances are you are a registered drug specialist. In case you are not, you can get yourself registered for the same.
The registered drug specialist can also be a business partner, a board member, or a paid representative. Some countries might have some restrictions regarding this, so it is better to study the prevalent laws pertaining to this domain.
4. Select the right platform
When it comes to choosing the right platform, there are plenty of options in the market. Look at the platform which satisfies all your needs and provides all the necessary features.
5. Build a strong supply chain
Switching to online pharmacies offer exciting opportunities for business owners to expand their business. However, it is essential to have genuine products available all the time to establish customer trust. To facilitate this, it is cardinal to build a strong supply chain and have authentic items in your stock.
Designing an Android app, iOS app and a website bearing your brand name or your store name will allow you to create your brand value, which in turn, will give you more recognition in the market.
For that, you will need to contact a platform development company to fulfil your requirements.
EMedStore has the unique experience of working in the pharma IT domain. EMedStore believes in giving value to the customers. So, we not only help our clients with online pharmacy mobile app development and online pharmacy website development but also equip them with sound marketing tips.
From our experience of working globally in the pharma IT domain for more than ten years, we gained recognition from our clients for our excellent solutions. We build a high-quality website, android app, and iOS app for your business.
Want to see why our clients across the globe rely on our services for their online pharmacy needs? Get your free demo here.
Contact us to develop your online pharmacy application: Call +91 97377 12429 / +91 72020 97862
Have a query? Mail us at [email protected]