[sugam]

Originally Posted by Simhi

I am using MedplusMart and they have option of collecting medicine at their local outlets as well as showing prescription at local outlets. So order medicine online and collect medicines locally. Works out for me as online order gets you up to 20% discount when order value is more than Rs. 1000. You can also pay at the local outlets.

That's a really interesting hybrid model of an online pharmacy and a conventional store. Didn't know they had a collection option as well.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I have done both - order medicines and consult a doctor online.

I have used the following:

Order medicines: 1MG, Netmeds, Myra, Medplusonline, Practo.
Medical Supplies: PinHealth by medlife
Medical Test and Online Consultation: 1MG
Online Doctor booking: Practo

My only grouse is the time taken to get the medicines delivered - so, in case of an emergency, I still go to brick and mortar stores, but I go for online if I am doing a planned buy.

--Anoop

Valid points, what we need is a less than an hour and dependable delivery, only then it would make sense. How was your experience consulting with Practo?

Originally Posted by naveenroy

To be honest, I think consulting a doctor online is the way of the future. They push that here too what with rising health insurance costs. I have not done it but I am not against it either.

Ordering meds online - this is something that I have been contemplating of late. It is because my dad buys all his heart medicine a month in advance. I plan to check out pharmeasy - looks like inmates have good reviews of this portal.

More than the cost factor, in my opinion, it is the convenience that currently makes people remotely consult doctors for minor ailments - given the current standard of services available to us.

Originally Posted by A M

e-medicine is a very broad term. Better known terms are Telemedicine, eHealth, Digital Health. They are used interchangeably but there are subtle differences.

The two components that you mentioned here are Teleconsultation and e-Pharmacy.

e-Pharmacies are very convenient but they are not of much use in emergencies due to logistical issues. Otherwise, it is really convenient to have your regular medicines on subscription for 3 refills i.e till the validity of a prescription for chronic non-communicable diseases and then receive a reminder to get a checkup done and get a new prescription.

Teleconsultations, I believe, is the future but it will take quite a few years for the market to mature and people to become aware of the benefits and limitations of teleconsultation. In its current form, teleconsultations are beneficial only for counselling sessions, follow-ups (where you only need to show investigation reports) or in some emergency conditions where people around the patient have no idea what to do but can perform the basic stuff (putting the patient in recovery position, keeping a patent airway) till professional help arrives.

A major limitation though is the quality of consultations available online through the apps. I would not recommend anyone to blindly use any such app for consultations and go by the advice/prescription.

Please use it only with your trusted physician and ONLY for the follow-ups where investigation reports need to be shown after you've made a physical visit.

Building on from my last point in response to Naveen's views, I feel that telemedicine services need to be standardised and the communication must be of a much higher quality in order to instil confidence in the patient that nothing has been missed out while diagnosing his / her disease. I also feel AI will have a major role in the coming decade - especially in triaging patients (separating critical that need immediate attention vs non-critical), in standardising the diagnostic process and rooting out human error.

Originally Posted by govigov

OK, I did contemplate on buying medicines online. I was unable to get clarity on somethings. For examples, on some / most of the medicines, it is clearly written that exposure to sunlight / higher temperatures should be avoided. This is because the medicine would lose its potency when kept and maintained at a higher temperature. I am wary of these delivery trucks kept out in the open and driven for days together on the highways to reach its destination would make the medicine lose its potency.

At least with a brick and mortar store, I can be assured that the distributor and the pharmacy would take precaution to store and transport medicines as stipulated rather than a general logistics company.

Excellent thought!

Originally Posted by akshay380

Thanks for starting this thread. We run a pharmacy in Goa and planning to start selling medicines online. Just waiting for the clarification from the new e pharmacy draft policies. One thing I have failed to understand is the ~20% discount offered these days. Our margins are around 20-25% on most big brands and I'm curious how these guys manage to give 20% discount! One way could be of bulk buying but then for concepts like Pharmeasy, they just deliver through local B&M stores like us who get the products from local distributor channels. VC money again at play here?

I think these online pharmacies are deep discounting by letting their margins go in discounts and are grabbing orders for now. Ultimately, it will come down to narrower discounts with improvement of services, I guess.

Originally Posted by scorpian

In my case i shifted to netmed's due to savings/cashback offers running most of the time. Earlier i would buy from the local pharmacy but always billed at actual, i once asked for a discount when my bill amount exceeded 2k, but the way he reacted was like i asked him for his kidney. The same medicines when i calculated i could see quite a bit of saving via online e-pharmacy.With the cash back sometimes i just need to place an order and have the value deducted from my netmed's wallet without having to pay a rupee.

If my local store offers me the same or a close to same discount i would happily buy from them.I think e-pharmacy's are the way to go and that's what is going to happen in future.

Yes, the brick and mortar stores are very averse to giving discounts, especially since after the introduction of GST, most of the ones I have visited in person have displayed a blue coloured notice in their shops mentioning the 'impact of GST on their revenues and requesting customers to not ask for discounts'. Guess they are driving a nail into their own coffin with the advent and growth of epharmacies being imminent.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by akshay380

Thanks for starting this thread. We run a pharmacy in Goa and planning to start selling medicines online. Just waiting for the clarification from the new e pharmacy draft policies. One thing I have failed to understand is the ~20% discount offered these days. Our margins are around 20-25% on most big brands and I'm curious how these guys manage to give 20% discount! One way could be of bulk buying but then for concepts like Pharmeasy, they just deliver through local B&M stores like us who get the products from local distributor channels. VC money again at play here?

My brother-in-law runs a medical store in tier-2 ciry. Even he was surprised (and may be shocked as well) when I first told him about the discount. He said, the maximum margin he gets is 20% and he can never think of giving that kind of discount.
But I am sure that the discounts will slowly come down in the coming months and tehn both online and B&M stores will survive.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by sugam

Valid points, what we need is a less than an hour and dependable delivery, only then it would make sense. How was your experience consulting with Practo?

It was good - helped me to find options and the reviews given helped me to zero in on the preferred doctor. The appointment was taken online and I got the consultation done face 2 face seamlessly.

--Anoop

[blackwasp]

I have never considered buying medicines online only due to the convenience factor. The medical shop is barely 200m away from my home (50m if you draw a straight line). We mostly take medicines for my grandmother. Every month she gives me her usual list and I order on her behalf. If she's staying over for the weekend, we collect medicines ourself. If there is a shortage (eg. only 2 instead of 3 strips available), the shop owner will arrange home delivery for the missing stuff the next day or later in the evening.

These days, I just tell them the name and they ask if you want the usual or something else. They also give a nice discount ~10% on most orders.

Apart from the cost factor, I think the convenience factor would be an important decision maker for most. That said, for a long term prescription medicines, online retailers could be beneficial as you can order well in advance to account for any delays.

[A M]

Originally Posted by sugam

Building on from my last point in response to Naveen's views, I feel that telemedicine services need to be standardised and the communication must be of a much higher quality in order to instil confidence in the patient that nothing has been missed out while diagnosing his / her disease. I also feel AI will have a major role in the coming decade - especially in triaging patients (separating critical that need immediate attention vs non-critical), in standardising the diagnostic process and rooting out human error.

Quality is indeed a major limitation at this stage.

In institutional settings, telemedicine technology has significantly improved because of the availability of equipment (digital stethoscopes, digital sphygmomanometers and even digital dermascopes) but this is not possible through any app. So they have a limitation and it'll take a couple of years for devices that can interface with smartphones and help in diagnosis. Single lead EKG is already here for starters. Though it cannot match the conventional 12-lead, but a false positive is always better than a false negative.

AI will have a major role. It is already being used in microbiology labs, radiodiagnosis and cancer diagnosis and the next area where AI can immensly help is triage. NHS (UK) has already put an AI powered chatbot in service to triage patients.

The next 5 years will change healthcare the way it has not changed in the last 25 years.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by kavensri

He said, the maximum margin he gets is 20%...

That's not true. The margins can vary between 20% and 75% depending on the company and the particular medicine in question. The online pharmacies simply work on the law of averages and pass on a lumpsum discount of 20-25% to the customer. They don't stockpile their own medicines, and usually use a wholesaler to process customers' orders - which is a huge saving on inventory cost compared to brick-and-mortar stores.

Brick-and-mortar stores will often pass on 10-15% discount to their regular customers. One just has to ask.

Online pharmacies I've used are 1mg, Medlife and SastaSundar. 1mg is the one that is most stringent about their prescription requirements (cannot be more than 1 month old even if a repeat order, doctors from other specialities cannot write prescriptions for other disorders - such as, they won't accept a prescription from a general surgeon for ophthalmic or gynaecology-related medicines). Medlife - doctors call and confirm that the customer is suffering from ailments that the medicines are supposed to treat. Repeat orders without change don't need a repeat prescription at Medlife.

The chemists' & pharmacists' associations are up in arms and lobbying hard against online pharmacies, and chances are that the government would step in and ban these online pharmacies in the near future. Till then, there's no harm in saving some money!

[Ragavsr]

I am a medical student myself and our family used to run a medical store until a year back when we shut it down. The concept of telemedicine is something I am not so enthusiastic about.

I can confirm that margins for most branded products are 20-25 % at best, though generics provide higher margins.

The online pharmacies are clearly burning VC money. I just ordered from pharmeasy after reading this thread just to see how it works. Fingers crossed.
Overall, buying generics from the subsidised Jan Aushadi store will work out far cheaper.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

That's not true. The margins can vary between 20% and 75% depending on the company and the particular medicine in question. !

I don't want to argue here about the margin. I just mentioned the number that I got to know from my brother-in-law who has been running a medical store since more than 25 years now, and yes I do trust him.

[GTO]

Voted Yes. Have consulted online & ordered medicines too. However:

- I didn't have a good experience with an unknown doctor online. So, what I've started doing is consulting with my existing doctors online. I transfer their consultation fees and then take it up via WhatsApp (pictures), email & phone. It's a win-win. I don't have to wait at their clinic & save commuting time. They get additional income during their off-peak hours.

- Medicines, I have started buying from the local shop only. One reason is, wherever possible, I like to support the local economy (specifically the area I live in). Second, ordering medicines for me is as simple as sending a WhatsApp message to my PA who takes care of the rest. Third, the local shops give me a discount & home delivery (when required).

Originally Posted by kavensri

I just mentioned the number that I got to know from my brother-in-law who has been running a medical store since more than 25 years now, and yes I do trust him.

Maybe both of you are right. Your BIL might have mentioned "net margins" (after all costs), while SS-Traveller is talking about "gross".

[sandx]

I didn't find the option that suited my experience with online medical conveniences. Consulted or maybe willing to consult online for periodic or regular ailments but buying medicines online left a bad taste in my mouth.

Now I had to buy some medicines for my wife which was not stocked generally in the pharmacies and I had to specifically ask the ones nearby my office or home to have them order it after paying the advance. So I decided to look for it online after seeing the full page ads in newspapers and TVCs running whenever I switch on the TV. The particular medicine was listed with an inflated price tag which was more than 50% of the price that I was paying for it offline. As it was a 3 month course decided to continue with the offline purchase mode.

Besides there are so many pharmacies in and around my home or office, it would be hard to get to the online mode. It is like wanting to buy a packet of chips or biscuits, even if there is the convenience of buying it online I would just rather walk down the 3 floors of my apartment to fulfill that particular need of mine or for others in the family.

[aniketvu]

I am based in Navi Mumbai. I have used Medlife, Netmeds and Pharmeasy. What I have found is that Pharmeasy is the fastest of the lot but not always the cheapest. With Pharmeasy, I have even seen a delivery made on the same day of order.

Netmeds is the worst in terms of deliveries taking upto 1 week at times. I guess this is because they seem to ship everything from Chennai.

I dont think online pharmacies are really useful if you are ill and need medicines immediately. No option other than the local medicine shops there (who refuse to given any discount however large the order). However, if you have recurring needs or need medicine for non-immediate use, these are a very good option.

Medlife is the easiest to get even prescription medicine from since they will simply have a doctor to call you and generate a prescription online.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by aniketvu

I am based in Navi Mumbai. I have used Medlife, Netmeds and Pharmeasy. What I have found is that Pharmeasy is the fastest of the lot but not always the cheapest. With Pharmeasy, I have even seen a delivery made on the same day of order.

Netmeds is the worst in terms of deliveries taking upto 1 week at times. I guess this is because they seem to ship everything from Chennai.

Medlife is the easiest to get even prescription medicine from since they will simply have a doctor to call you and generate a prescription online.

Exactly the same experience as yours when it comes to Netmeds and Pharmeasy. As I have mentioned earlier, Pharmeasy is the 'easiest' of user experience, even when you don't have prescription for the prescription medicines. And the best part is, maximum time taken by them is one day and many a times, they have done the delivery same day. I started with Netmeds and initially it was okay, but later they started taking too much time (around one week sometimes) that too without any update to the order. That's when I decided to ditch Netmeds (through their discounts are slightly higher than Pharmeasy) and switched to Pharmeasy.

[aadya]

I am a practising physician and I have been in the know how of online consulting platforms and online pharmacies. My 2 cents

1.Online is the way to go in the future for 70% of minor care in health care, but with the caveat that the risk of missing diagnosis. Because most of our common diagnoses are done in the first couple of minutes we come into contact with the patient. How the pateint looks, talks , walks etc., along with the symptoms. These signs could not be brought out in online consultation for sure. And the quality of consult is for sure to be lesser as both the patient and doctor has put convenience above contact. I have plenty of instances where my presence and polite but confident demeanour has convinced the patient to take right decisions in crucial moments,which could never happen online where your consultation is done based on coupon, bandwidth and convenience.

2.Online pharmacies are next big loot that is going to happen. They are just behind the patient data and volumes. They have slowly entered diagnostics and now consultation too. The moment they get the buyer for the data they will exit the business. Brick and mortar stores are not helping themselves by being to miserly. They should be able to give 10% discounts by inventory management, but not beyond that.

Online pharmacies are clandestinely replacing the branded medicines with generics with fat margins of upto 70% but priced slightly lesser than the good brands. What would most of us do when the customer care calls up after 2 days of waiting says that this particular brand is not available and they have a good brand of same medicine with slightly lesser price available readily. We would say yes. Thats where their profit is going to come from apart from VC funds.

My advice is to use online consults only in unavoidable circumstances and seemingly minor illnesses. Use online pharmacies to buy well established, expensive, imported medications and use this as a bargaining chip to get discounts from the local pharmacy.

[dicor]

Originally Posted by akshay380

One thing I have failed to understand is the ~20% discount offered these days. Our margins are around 20-25% on most big brands and I'm curious how these guys manage to give 20% discount!

Talking about Zomato, Uber, Ola, Swiggy.
Discounts and offers are rendered by these online partners not by sellers. Seller get price for the sold item - 25% commission. These online vendors offers these heavy discount from their own pockets. Consider this as their initial investment and marketing cost.

I am little surprised to the read about profit margin you are claiming. I take medicine from a near by pharmacy and he offers me discount ranging from 10% to 25%. A known pharmacist also offers me flat 15% discount.

In 2009, a relative, who owns 3 medical shops and 2 of them were inside a busy hospital compound revealed the shocking disclosures and practices about pharmacy business. The profit margin he told me at that time was around 50% for not so branded and 20-30% for brands like Lupin / Zydus / Himalaya etc.

May be you are in retail business and only selling medicines from renown brands.

[dextor]

Done both.

Reason for online ordering medicine -
1. Availability of medicines as well as options & substitutes. I have been researching and choosing cheaper substitutes compared to branded costly ones. I have experience of Vitamin D injections which were like Rs.50+ which doctor recommended and a substitute costed me just Rs. 2. This I needed for almost an year. So definitely a big saving.

2. Information, price, content, size/quantity, side effects, user feedback. All the information is available online like in 1mg.com. This information we can never get from doctor or local chemist.

3. Order when ever I want. I can order in middle of the night or when ever I remember. Very convenient. No need to rush around. Also online payment is helpful rather than carrying cash everywhere.

4. Biggest reason - discounts. We can always expect atleast 20% discount. For a local chemist if we ask for discount they behave as if we have asked for one of his kidney. The max favour they will do is let go off some change.

I have used 1mg & Medlife. 1mg has been very slow. Medlife was amazing initially where they used to deliver on the same day. But since last year they have also slowed down and delivery is taking almost 2-3 days. But their customer care is good and returns & refunds are never a problem.

Online consultation -
Its a good alternative then visiting doctor for everything but I see some challenges -
1. Doctors don't seem to be interested. Responses are short & lame. Not very helpful. I think they fear loosing the consultation fees. But they will only show as if they are very busy & cannot respond.

2. We don't know the credibility of the doctor. Online profile might be genuine but the person responding from other side might not be the same doctor.

3. Every city has some famous doctors which people know of. But online its tough to get his info.

4. Many people will be hesitant to pay an online doctor an amount of Rs 500 compared to a doctor being consulted face to face. Also people will expect discount :-)