Online shopping has transformed how people buy products and services, and the healthcare industry is also going in the same pattern. With the growing online Pharmacy delivery mobile app market, patients can effortlessly order their prescribed medications and other health-relevant products while relaxing at home.
Online pharmacy delivery is not a new concept, but recently, during and post-pandemic, the adoption of this technology has caught up with the pace. According to a report, by 2026, the global digital health market will likely reach $639.4 billion. It has emerged with a hassle-free mode of ordering medicine, with no need to wait in long queues at drugstores, and assists patients in managing their chronic conditions effectively. So, it’s a win-win situation for the customers and healthcare service providers.
This article will let you explore more about an online drugstore, how to develop the best online pharmacy App to boost your ROI, why to invest in medicine delivery app development, the benefits of building such apps, and more.
What is a Medicine Delivery App or an Online Pharmacy App?
An online pharmacy delivery app, also known as a medicine delivery app, is a digital platform that facilitates users to order prescription medications and other healthcare products using a mobile device. Such apps ease ordering medicine anytime, anywhere, without needing to visit a physical pharmacy. Typically they have a wide range of over-the-counter drugs, prescription medications, and other healthcare items for purchase.
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How Does the Pharmacy Delivery App Work?
The working of an online pharmacy delivery app may differ depending on the platform, but the basic steps included in ordering medicine using an app are usually as below:
Sign Up and Set Up Your Account
To use the app, users create an account and offer essential personal and medical details, like their name, contact details, address, and prescription details.
Select the Medication
After the user sets up the account, they search for the medicines they need and add them to their shopping cart.
Upload Prescription
If it is a doctor’s prescription, the users can upload a photo of their prescription or the online medicine recommendation the doctor sends them to their app.
Checkout and Payment
Once they add the items they want to buy to their cart, they can checkout quickly after paying for the medicines using a secure payment gateway integrated with the app.
Delivery
The users get medicines and other healthcare items they order at their doorstep. The delivery time may vary depending on the medication’s availability and the users’ location.
Some medical delivery applications also provide extra features, like refill alerts, medication reminders, and delivery tracking. Such features can help patients manage their prescriptions more quickly and enhance medication adherence.
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High Demand for Online Pharmacy Apps for Medicine Delivery Post Covid 19
In the pandemic days, instant medicine delivery apps were demonstrated to be an in-demand help for the one who wanted to access prescription medications while diminishing the risk of exposure to the deadly virus. With the increasing need for social distancing and the shutdown of most businesses, including physical drugstores, many people started preferring to buy medications from any online pharmacy. Such apps have also reduced the load on healthcare systems and frontline workers by offering them an alternative to visiting an offline pharmacy store. Besides, these online medicine shopping apps have helped chronic patients with on-time medications, ensuring they manage their chronic illnesses effectively.
Why Invest in Medicine Delivery App Development? Online Pharmacy Size and Stats
Investing in a pharmacy delivery app development can be a clever move for varied reasons, like the rising demand for online pharmacy services and the growth prospects in this market.
- The Grand View Research report states in 2021, the valuation of the global online pharmacy market size was $52 billion. From 2022 to 2030, it’s expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5%. The report depicts that augmenting chronic disease mishaps, boosting healthcare costs, and the comfort of online pharmacy services are the few key factors driving the healthcare app market growth.
- Per a survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), around 67% of patients choose digital channels for ordering medicines and healthcare products and receiving refill reminders.
- According to McKinsey & Company, healthcare profit will expand at a 4% CAGR from about $654 billion in 2021 to around $790 billion in 2026.
Besides the growing market size, more compelling statistics highlights that investing in prescription delivery app development is a sound business decision.
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How Does Medicine Delivery App Make Money – Online Pharmacy App Monetization
Commissions
Online order medicine apps can charge an amount as a commission on all the transactions, which is usually a percentage of the entire order value made via the platform.
Advertising
The apps can choose targeted advertising for firms with similar audiences, such as pharmaceutical firms or other healthcare-related businesses, to generate revenue. You may use this monetization model to promote healthcare products or services to the app users.
Featured Listings
Your medicine delivery app can provide sponsored content or featured listings for health-related products or specific medications. Firms can pay for the featured listing to boost their visibility and drive more sales.
eCommerce Integration
Online apps that deliver medicines can be integrated with eCommerce platforms and sell a wide range of health and wellness products, like vitamins, supplements, or medical equipment.
Lab Aggregation
Apps for medicine delivery at home partner with medical laboratories to provide lab testing services, like blood tests, to the app users. To generate revenue, such apps charge a fee for lab testing services.
For a credible and profit-generating application, you must be updated with the latest trends and choose a business monetization model that works in your favor. You can either select one of these or a hybrid of these to generate profits.
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Best Pharmacy App: Medicine Delivery Mobile Apps Examples
CVS Pharmacy
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.9
Serving 9,600+ areas across the US, CVS Pharmacy delivers orders within hours. This app gives users home delivery of their cold, allergy, and pain relief medications. Recently, this online pharmacy has partnered with Nuro, an autonomous vehicle startup, to deliver healthcare orders in Houston.
NowRx
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.8
One of the top US medication delivery service apps, NowRX, operates via a mobile app. This healthcare mobility solution provides various valuable tools to physicians and doctors. Using this app, users can upload images of their prescriptions and place orders for home delivery at their scheduled delivery time. This app allows pharmacists to access prescription statuses, analytics, and insurance data.
PillPack
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.1
Owned by Amazon, PillPack pharmacy, besides holding standard medication orders and delivery features, provides users the active pill pack accounts. Using this, they can offer their caregivers (loved ones and family members) access to their profiles. Their caregivers can get in touch with a healthcare provider and stay in the loop. Its online dashboard eases the patients to manage their prescriptions, refills, and shipments.
Capsule Pharmacy
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.9
A New York-based online pharmacy app provides same-day, free medication delivery. In pre-COVID times, this app was a big convenience for people who needed to get the risk of being infected by viruses. It offers the ease of same-day medication delivery to patients at their homes or offices.
RiteAid
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.8
Operating in the United States, RiteAid facilitates users to track their orders, refill prescriptions, and view their medicine order history. This app arrives with an easy-to-use interface and is a simple medicine delivery solution, which has become the top choice for people looking for a user-friendly and reliable pharmacy app.
1mg
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.7
An India-based pharmacy app, 1mg provides a wide range of healthcare-related services, including doctor consultations and medication delivery. This app operates in various regions across India and has also become a popular pick for people looking for the best online healthcare services.
Netmeds
- Available On: Android, iOS
- Rating: 4.5
One more India-based online medicine delivery app, NetMeds, provides its users with a broad range of medicines, like homeopathy, prescribed meds, dietary supplements, fitness-relevant products, and more. It also offers special offers and discounts daily. Users get bonuses by referring to this app to their friends and family.
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Medicine Delivery App Development – Business Model
Dedicated to Single Brand
This Online Pharmacy app business model is dedicated to a single brand where a pharmacy develops an app for its brand and provides medication delivery services to its customers. This model is perfect for pharmacies that need to provide an easy-to-use and convenient app to their customers without competing with other brands.
Pharmacist Aggregation
Another business model for online pharmacy delivery apps is pharmacy aggregation. This model allows the app to group up the services of various pharmacies to provide a broader range of options to the app users. In this business model, the app serves as a platform that connects users with local pharmacies and permits them to pick from a wide range of options for medication delivery.
D2C Medicine Delivery
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) medicine delivery, allows medicine delivery to users straight from licensed pharmacists and facilitates them to get medication delivery services without visiting a physical pharmacy.
It can be an attractive option for those who need regular medication or live in remote areas with limited access to pharmacies.
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Online Pharmacy App Development Key Features
Customer Panel
Social Signup and Login
The users should be allowed to quickly sign in using their social media accounts and log in via their mobile numbers or primary IDs.
Upload Prescriptions
Users can upload their medication prescriptions to an online pharmacy App, allowing the pharmacists to read them and send medicines accordingly.
Profile Management
The online pharmacy delivery app users should be allowed to make their profile, including their name, address, payment details, and more, for a seamless and better experience.
Medicine Details
On a medicine delivery mobile application, every listed drug or medicine should hold all the details considering its treatment, like manufacturing and expiry dates, price, manufacturer, etc.
Filters for Category Search
The app should let the users filter their search for medicines for any disease, brand, category, price, and more.
Expansive Search
The users should be allowed to look for a substitute for their medicines in case of the unavailability of the one he wants.
Pharmacist Panel
Order Tracking & Notifications
The app should inform the pharmacy with a pop-up or text message whenever a user orders medicines. This assists them in faster order processing.
Manage Drug Details
A drugstore owner or pharmacist should be able to make modifications when he wants to add or remove the medicines from his list on the application. Besides, he should be able to access the details of his listed products.
Digital Prescriptions
The app should permit the pharmacists to access the prescriptions the users upload to get the medicines.
Order Management
Also, using the app, the pharmacists should be facilitated to arrange their medicine orders and monitor orders processing, customers’ return orders, and processing refunds for those returns.
Manage Discounts
To get loyal customers to repeat business, the drugstore owners should provide special offers and discounts to the app users.
Track Payments
In the app, all the payments should come directly, maintaining transparency, and pharmacists should be allowed to track those payments easily.
List Similar Medicines
A pharmacist should be able to guide the customers on buying substitute or similar medicines in the case of unavailability of a particular brand.
Access Reviews & Ratings
Pharmacies should be given access to all the reviews and ratings they get from their customers for the services they provide to them. This way, they can improve customer service per their demands and expectations.
Super Admin
Inventory Management
This feature of the medicine delivery app lets the admin stay updated about their products and stock. Also, they should be informed about their healthcare products’ expiration dates.
Manage Suppliers and Users
The admin should hold power for managing the medicine manufacturers, users, and suppliers via their online profiles on the app.
Marketing & Promotion Tools
Besides, such apps with this feature will permit the admin to run marketing campaigns that drive more customers. This assists them in getting connected with more pharmaceutical companies.
Access & Generate Reports
Admins should be able to get the entire data relevant to the app workflow to help them create an updated report.
Track ROI
Besides, the app’s admin should be given access to track his earnings at any time, whether yearly, quarterly, or monthly.
Delivery Boy Panel – Pharmacy App Development
Push Messages
The delivery app can get notified about newly placed orders via push notifications on mobile phones.
Courier Profile
This section of the app should include the details of the delivery boy with the history of his past deliveries.
Tracking System
The delivery boys should hold a GPS tracking system to locate the customers quickly while they are out for product delivery.
Delivery Updates
He should hold the caliber to update their medicine delivery status at all steps to keep the details updated.
How to Create a Medicine Delivery App – Advance Features
Push Notification
Such messages inform the users when their medicine will run out and when to refill their prescriptions.
In-App Document Management
Such apps permit users to upload their prescriptions and other medical documents that they can access anytime and manage efficiently.
In-App Camera
The In-app camera allows users to take a picture of their prescription medication and upload it on the app, saving customers and pharmacists time and automating the process.
In-App Chat
The in-app chat feature lets users communicate with medical professionals and pharmacists about their queries and other healthcare-relevant topics.
Chatbot Integration
Integrating an AI-driven, automated customer support system, the chatbot allows users to connect with the app whenever they have something to ask or discuss with medical experts.
Pharmaceutical CRM Integration
A CRM integration with the online medicine delivery app facilitates pharmacies to accumulate and analyze customer details, boost customer service, customize marketing efforts, and optimize business operations.
Real-Time Dashboards and Analytics
Using this online pharmacy delivery app feature, the admins can keep track of the app’s real-time activities, like the number of sales, active users, shipment returns, cart abandonment, and more.
Additionally, real-time analytics assist in better decision-making.
Behavior Tracking
By tracking customer behavior, ePharmacies can accumulate valuable data on customers’ habits and preferences that can facilitate them in customizing their services to meet their needs.
EHR Integration
An online drugstore should hold the caliber to share the users’ (Electronic Health Record) EHR profile with healthcare providers like emergency facilities, testing laboratories, doctors, and hospitals.
Inventory Management
This advanced feature of an online medicine home delivery app allows pharmacies to monitor their stock levels in real-time, track their medication expiration dates and set automatic reorder points to ensure the stock is refilled before it runs out.
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Needed Medical Compliance & Integration to Build a Medicine Delivery App
- Health Level 7 International (HL7)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
- HITECH’s Meaningful Use Stages 1 and 2 (MU-1 & MU-2)
- Certified with EPCS (Electronic prescribing of a controlled substance)
- Integrated with EPA (Electronic Prior Authorization)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Challenges in Creating A Medicine Delivery App
Data Security
The online prescription delivery app should offer patient data security per HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Besides, there should be a revelation of the patient’s health in any way out. Still, if any patient’s details are shared via these apps with the doctors or hospitals, it should comply with the HIPAA security rules.
Witnessing Clashes from the Traditional Enterprise Systems
Hospitals following the aging process of medicine distribution haven’t accepted this new medicine delivery system to the patients. Hence, online pharmacy delivery apps still face adaptability challenges with the old medical methods.
FDA Regulations
Such apps need to follow the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rules and regulations that promote a healthy lifestyle and electronic device modification into medical services that allow them to access services like medication, diet tracking, and exercise.
What Are The Benefits Of Creating Online Pharmacy Apps For Medicine Delivery?
Customer Benefits
Medicine Availability Updates:
Such apps let the customers keep in touch with the ePharmacies via push notifications and stay updated on the medical and related equipment availability.
Saving Time:
App users or customers don’t need to visit pharmacies to buy any specific medicine physically. Instead, they can order any healthcare item, medicine, or medical equipment from the online medicine delivery app while lounging on their couch at home.
Discounts and Offers
Such apps are widely known for offering users special offers and discounts they can’t get at the chemist stores. Usually, they also bring home delivery of medicines, with no need to pay for delivery charges.
Consult with a Specialist
The app allows customers to upload their prescriptions and see if their healthcare items and medicines are available. Moreover, they can book an appointment with their doctors and get a consultation about the medicine intake and other relevant information.
Pharmacists Benefits
Better Shopping Experience for Users
The medicine delivery apps offer unique customer experiences via their high-end services, from medicines order placing to successful delivery.
Access to the Latest Schemes
Pharmacists or healthcare service providers can get access to marketing campaigns and schemes that ePharmacy apps run.
Well-established Customer Base
The pharmacists get repeated requests from the app users and can meet their demands by offering them medicines and other healthcare products.
Up-to-date Inventory
Pharmacists don’t need to manually update their inventory as the apps can do this automatically, which also offers details about the medicines’ expiry dates and other relevant information.
Available Medicine Alternatives
On these online pharmacy apps, pharmacists can look for alternative medicines customers want.
Increased Customer Reach
Online pharmacies can grow their business by getting customers from other regions also.
Overcome Geographical Restrictions
As the stores are limited to one geographical area only, pharmacists and other healthcare service providers can expand their business and customer base at far-off locations using the apps.
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Technology Stack Needed To Make On-Demand Medicine Delivery App
- Programming languages: You may need multiple programming languages to build the app. For example, Java or Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS, and JavaScript for web-based apps.
- Mobile app development frameworks: You must choose a framework for developing your mobile apps, such as React Native, Flutter, or Ionic.
- Backend technologies: You will need a backend to manage data and connect to your app’s front end. This can be achieved with technologies like Node.js, Ruby on Rails, or Django.
- Cloud storage: You will need a cloud storage system to store the data and files related to the app. This could be achieved using cloud storage providers like Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage.
- Payment gateway: You will need a payment gateway to manage transactions within the app. Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree are popular payment gateway options.
- API integrations: You must integrate your app with various third-party APIs, such as Google Maps API for location tracking, Twilio API for SMS notifications, etc.
- Database management: You will need a database management system to store and manage data. Some popular options include MySQL, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL.
- Push notifications: For push notifications, you can use services like Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), Apple Push Notification Service (APNS), or Google Cloud Messaging (GCM).
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): For CRM, you can use several tools and services such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, or Freshsales.
- Email: For email, you can use services such as Mailchimp, SendGrid, or Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) to send bulk emails or transactional emails.
- Marketing automation: You can use tools like Marketo, Pardot, or HubSpot Marketing Hub to automate your marketing tasks and campaigns.
- Analytics: You can use tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Kissmetrics to track user behavior, measure app performance, and get insights into user engagement.
Online Pharmacy App Development Process
Medicine Delivery App Concept
The first phase of an online pharmacy app development process is creativity. Here you need to recognize the issues you are facing and want to resolve with your app and the key features that you want in your app.
Thorough Market and Competitor Research
In this phase, you must conduct deep market research and analyze your competitors to understand your target audience and offerings.
Choose Mobile App Platform
According to your audience, feature requirements, and budget, you must pick a suitable mobile app platform, such as Android, iOS, or hybrid.
Wireframe and UX/UI Design
Now you have a precise understanding of your app’s platform and features; you can start designing your app’s user interface to offer a better user experience. This phase includes the development of wireframes and prototypes to create a clear concept of your app’s workflow and functionality.
App Development & Testing
The app developers start app coding and programming in this medicine delivery app development phase. After you develop an app, it undergoes rigorous testing to ensure that it performs as expected and is free from glitches and bugs.
App Stores Listing
After testing is conducted, the app will be listed on related app stores, such as Google Play Store and Apple App Store, for users to download.
Start Marketing Campaign
At last, it’s time to market your app to the target audience you identified in the first stage, using many digital marketing techniques to boost app installs and usage.
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How Much Does It Cost to Build an Online Pharmacy App?
The cost of online pharmacy app development can vary greatly depending on various factors such as features, complexity, platform, development team location, and time frame. A basic online pharmacy app with standard features such as medication orders, refills, and delivery can cost around $20,000 to $30,000.
However, suppose you want to add more advanced features such as telemedicine integration, in-app chat, real-time inventory management, and CRM integration. In that case, the cost can go from $50,000 to $100,000.
Conclusion:
An online pharmacy app development can be a game-changer for the growing healthcare industry. With the expanding technology and the rising demand for ease and convenience, such apps have evolved as the need of the hour. Holding the caliber of providing easy access to teleconsultation, medication, and health-related details, a medicine delivery app can be a valuable tool for doctors, patients, and pharmacists.
Today, when the world is matching the steps of digitization, investing in an online pharmacy app development will assist businesses in meeting the transforming consumers’ demands and offer a chance to pace up with the rapidly expanding market.
So, whether you own a startup or a large enterprise, building an online medicine delivery app can be an excellent activity to increase your revenue and establish a robust brand presence. Get in touch to learn more about how to develop a feature-rich app that can take your business a level ahead.