HIPAA eCommerce

Advantages and Disadvantages of the E-Pharmacy Business Model

Published  |  8 min read
Key Takeaways
  • E-pharmacy offers many advantages, such as convenience, lower costs, wider product range, privacy, and accessibility.
  • It also has some disadvantages, such as the lack of physical interaction, the availability of counterfeit medication, prescription requirements, and variable delivery times.
  • It's important for businesses considering entering the e-pharmacy market to work with developers that have experience in the medical field.
  • E-pharmacy websites need to adhere to stringent security measures, including PCI DSS for credit card information and HIPAA for patient electronic protected health information (ePHI).
Outpatient computerized prescribing systems reduce prescription errors.

As the world is moving towards digitalization, e-pharmacy is gaining popularity worldwide.

E-pharmacy, also known as online pharmacy, is a digital platform that provides access to a wide range of pharmaceutical products and services. With just a few clicks, customers can order prescription drugs, over-the-counter medication, and other healthcare products online.

But is e-pharmacy for every business that distributes pharmaceuticals? In this article, we will take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of taking electronic prescriptions and provide a comprehensive analysis of this emerging trend in the healthcare industry.

What Is the E-Pharmacy Business Model?

The eCommerce pharmacy business model is a new form of digital healthcare that uses the internet and eCommerce tools to allow customers to purchase pharmaceuticals from anywhere in the world. This business model has enabled consumers to access medication quickly and conveniently while also providing cost savings.

The process typically involves customers placing orders online, with the pharmacy then sending them the medication through mail or delivery services. By reducing the need for physical stores, e-pharmacies can provide customers with greater convenience and better affordability. They are currently gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacies due to their advantages such as round-the-clock availability and better pricing.

Utilizing mail order pharmacies to prevent adverse drug events and reduce patient harm.

The Advantages of E-Pharmacy

Many of the advantages of owning an e-pharmacy start with the customers and how they will interact with your store. If you provide a better experience for customers, they're more likely to choose you over a traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacy.

Convenience

E-pharmacies give customers the ability to purchase medications from anywhere in the world. Customers no longer have to physically visit a local pharmacy or drug store, but instead can make purchases online and have them delivered directly to their doorstep. This eliminates the time and effort associated with making trips to a physical store.

In addition, many e-pharmacies provide customers with 24/7 availability and access to detailed information about medications that may not be available in stores. Customers also benefit from the cost savings associated with buying medication online due to reduced overhead costs.

Wider Product Range

E-pharmacies give customers a wider product range is that it allows them to access medication and medical products that may not be available in a traditional pharmacy. By utilizing online databases and online suppliers, e-pharmacies can provide customers with a greater selection of products than those typically found in physical stores. This gives customers the ability to find specialized medications or medical equipment that may otherwise be difficult to obtain from local pharmacies.

Many e-pharmacies stock over-the-counter drugs and other items such as vitamins and supplements that are not commonly stocked in brick-and-mortar stores. In this way, e-pharmacies can offer customers a more comprehensive selection of products compared to traditional pharmacies.

Lower Costs

This advantage should be pretty obvious: Providing customers with lower costs allows them to save money. E-pharmacies can often offer reduced prices due to their lower overhead costs, such as not having to pay for physical store space or staffing costs. Furthermore, many e-pharmacies pass on additional savings to customers in the form of discounts and promotional offers.

By taking advantage of these cost reductions, customers are able to save significantly over purchasing medications from traditional stores. Additionally, some e-pharmacies offer free shipping and delivery services which further reduce costs for customers. In this way, e-pharmacies can provide significant savings to customers over traditional pharmacies.

Privacy

Many traditional pharmacies require customers to provide their personal information and make purchases in person, which can leave them feeling exposed and vulnerable. By contrast, e-pharmacies offer a much higher level of privacy as customers are not required to present any identification or reveal their medical history when making a purchase.

Due to the digital nature of the transactions made through an e-pharmacy, all payments and customer data are securely protected by modern encryption technologies, keeping customers' private information safe from prying eyes. In this way, e-pharmacies are able to offer customers greater privacy than that provided by traditional stores.

Accessibility

One of the main advantages of giving customers better accessibility is that it allows rural customers to access medication that may not be available in their local area. By providing customers with an online ordering service, e-pharmacies can make it much easier for rural customers to purchase medication, regardless of their location.

This is especially valuable for those living in remote areas who may have difficulty accessing traditional pharmacies due to transportation or travel constraints. E-pharmacies offer delivery services that allow rural customers to have medication delivered directly to their door, further increasing accessibility for those who cannot easily travel to a store. In this way, e-pharmacies are able to provide better accessibility and convenience for all customers, including those living in rural areas.

Counseling patients online just like at community pharmacies.

The Disadvantages of E-Pharmacy

While there are many advantages of pharmacy eCommerce, it's important to be away of the challenges you may face with this business model.

Lack of Physical Interaction

While customers can use a chat feature to talk to someone about their prescription, e-pharmacies don't allow for face-to-face interaction with pharmacists. Brick-and-mortar pharmacies allow customers to have one-on-one conversations with their pharmacist, which can help to provide greater understanding and assurance when purchasing medication.

By contrast, due to the digital nature of e-pharmacies, customers are not able to engage in such conversations and instead must rely solely on their own knowledge or seek advice from external sources when it comes to selecting and taking medications correctly. This can lead to confusion for some customers and can cause potential safety issues if the wrong dosage or type of medication is taken.

It is important that e-pharmacies provide clear usage instructions so that all customers are aware of how to safely use medications purchased online. Offering a chat option—or even video chat with a pharmacist—can put their minds at ease. Seeing someone on the other end of the transaction can also give customers a sense of loyalty to a particular e-pharmacy.

Differentiating Yourself from Counterfeiters

Competing with counterfeit medication sellers can be a major disadvantage. Counterfeit medications are often produced with inferior ingredients and without the necessary safety standards in place, which can lead to significant health risks for customers who purchase them. No matter how quickly the drug enforcement administration takes them down, they just pop back up.

E-pharmacies must take extra steps to ensure that their products are safe and authentic, as even a single case of distributing counterfeit medications can cause serious damage to an e- pharmacy's reputation. Additionally, counterfeiting is illegal in many countries and therefore e-pharmacies may face legal action if they unknowingly distribute such products.

Counterfeit medication sellers also have access to cheaper production costs and prices due to their lack of regulations and standards, giving them an unfair economic advantage over legitimate e-pharmacies which have stricter regulations in place.

In other words, it can be difficult to differentiate your legitimate business from counterfeit sellers who are also advertising the same products at exponentially cheaper prices.

Delivery Times

From an e-pharmacy point of view, one of the main disadvantages is delivery times compared to brick-and-mortar pharmacies. Due to the distance between e-pharmacies and customers, there is usually a longer lead time for medications to be delivered. This can delay the process of receiving necessary treatments and can be especially problematic for those suffering from illnesses or chronic conditions that require prompt attention.

In contrast, brick-and-mortar pharmacies can provide customers with immediate access to medications, allowing them to receive medical care more quickly and conveniently. Due to geographical considerations such as traffic congestion or bad weather, delivery times for e-pharmacies may sometimes exceed expectations, further hindering their convenience.

Patient harm can be reduced and patient safety increased with e prescribing.

How to Take Advantage of the E-Pharmacy Model

  1. Seek professional advice: While e-pharmacy may lack face-to-face interaction with pharmacists, customers can still seek professional advice by contacting online pharmacists via email, phone, chat, or video chat. It is important to ensure that the online pharmacy has a registered pharmacist available to provide guidance and advice.
  2. Verify Authenticity: Like all pharmacies, online pharmacies must ensure that the medications they purchase are reputable and authorized by regulatory bodies such as the FDA. Since you'll be engaging in B2B eCommerce transactions with suppliers, perform thorough research on all pharmaceutical suppliers.
  3. Getting Prescriptions: Utilize prescription transfer software that is integrated with EMR/EHR software and uses HL7 protocols to ensure standardized data. Doing this will allow you to accept prescriptions from most doctors. Making use an of electronic prescribing system can also help reduce prescribing errors.
  4. Ensure HIPAA Compliance: It's absolutely vital that you put HIPAA compliance at the forefront of your plans when building your online pharmacy. Failure to do so could result in government fines and loss of customer confidence. This means investing in a HIPAA-compliant website and secure hosting for it.
  5. Electronic versus Traditional Prescriptions: Because there's so much less chance of misreading a doctors handwritten prescriptions, patient safety is increased with e-prescribing.

The Future of E-Pharmacy

The trend toward digitalization in the healthcare industry is expected to continue, with e-pharmacy playing a significant role in this transformation. With the global pandemic accelerating the adoption of digital healthcare solutions, e-pharmacy is poised for significant growth in the coming years.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global e-pharmacy market size is expected to reach USD 146.1 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3% from 2021 to 2028. This growth can be attributed to factors such as the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising healthcare costs, and the growing demand for convenient and accessible healthcare services.

Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and blockchain are expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of e-pharmacy, further fueling the growth of the market. These technologies can enable e-pharmacies to provide personalized medication recommendations, prevent medication errors, and enhance supply chain transparency.

Integrating Electronic Prescriptions

As the trend toward digitalization in the healthcare industry continues, e-pharmacy is expected to play a significant role in transforming the way we access healthcare services. The future of e-pharmacy looks promising, with significant growth expected in the coming years, driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising healthcare costs, and the growing demand for convenient and accessible healthcare services.

Clarity can help you integrate, create, or upgrade your existing e-pharmacy. We have HIPAA-compliant eCommerce platform, can design your website, and integrate with HL7 standards so that you can receive prescriptions. Get in touch for a free consultation, a no-hassle discovery process where we'll create a plan for your future.

Medicare prescription drug orders can be taken via EHR integration software.

FAQ

 

A digital pharmacy, also known as an e-pharmacy or an online pharmacy, is a type of pharmacy that is accessible via the internet. Digital pharmacies offer customers the convenience of ordering medications online and having them delivered to their doorstep. They typically provide a wide selection of over-the-counter and prescription drugs at competitive prices and may even offer savings through special discounts or loyalty programs. Additionally, customers can access a range of services such as home delivery, refill reminders, and consultations with pharmacists through digital pharmacies.

 

One of the key disadvantages of e-prescription is the increased risk of medical errors compared to traditional paper prescriptions. Due to the complexity and speed of the process, there is a higher possibility for mistakes to be made in terms of dosage or patient information. Additionally, some physicians or hospitals may not be familiar with digital prescription systems, leading to delays in patient care. Lastly, e-prescriptions can lead to breaches of patient privacy due to security issues which can put patients at risk.

 

Electronic prescribing (also known as e-prescribing) is the process of using digital means to prescribe medication directly to pharmacies and other eligible providers. This process allows healthcare providers to quickly and easily send accurate, legible, and secure prescriptions electronically, which can improve patient safety and reduce medication errors. Electronic prescribing also simplifies the prescription refill process for both patients and physicians by eliminating paperwork, streamlining communication between stakeholders, and reducing time spent in clinical settings.

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Stephen Beer is a Content Writer at Clarity Ventures and has written about various tech industries for nearly a decade. He is determined to demystify HIPAA, integration, enterpise SEO, and eCommerce with easy-to-read, easy-to-understand articles to help businesses make the best decisions.