7/21/2023 0 Comments Phlo digital pharmacyTo truly disrupt the wider pharmacy sector and increase market penetration of the online pharmacy sector you need to be able to deliver acute prescriptions. If a patient has an acute illness, they need their prescription as soon as possible. Therefore, they will usually be left with the only option of visiting a bricks and mortar pharmacy to source the prescription. An online pharmacy using a traditional mail order service will take on average three days to get the medication to the patient. These prescriptions are not predictable and patients who use traditional online pharmacies find the service is not fit for purpose. Secondly, acute prescriptions : Acute or ‘one-off’ prescriptions are prescribed by clinicians for those one-off illnesses that require a short but intense round of medication. We want to scale our same-day offering across England so patients can benefit from a safer, more convenient and reliable service. On the other hand, our same-day service operated seamlessly. Our biggest challenge during Covid was delayed deliveries by our courier partners. We believe that this gives patients added assurance and peace of mind that their medication will arrive safely and on time.ĭuring COVID-19 we scaled our own mail order facility to provide patients across the UK a mail order service. Patients can then track their order from our pharmacy to their door in real-time. Phlo’s on-demand, same-day service of prescriptions empowers patients to schedule a delivery slot at a time and place that suits them. Our market research suggested patients were uncomfortable receiving their prescriptions via the mail as they were not convinced as to the safety and reliability of the service. There are however two major challenges with this structure, both of which Phlo addresses:įirstly, the reliability of mail order: Once a prescription leaves a pharmacy there is always a chance that this package can go missing due to the actions of the courier provider. This service is adequate for the repeat medication market as the dispensing cycle is predictable and can be scheduled in advance. All the major players in the online pharmacy space operate out of a central hub delivering prescriptions via courier providers. What differentiates you from other digital pharmacies? I spoke to Adam Hunter, Chief Commercial Officer, about what lies ahead for the enterprise that seeks to unite the principles of great tech, design and patient service. The journey started when founder and CEO Nadeem Sarwar, who is on a regular repeat prescription, became frustrated with “the existing service of travelling to a pharmacy with restricted opening hours, long waiting times, lack of stock and incomplete prescriptions.” Average delivery time in London is two hours. Phlo is an online pharmacy promising on-demand, same-day prescription delivery of NHS and private prescriptions. “Life can be difficult as it is, accessing your medication shouldn’t be,” the pitch reads knowingly. Maybe this is one of the reasons why Phlo’s crowdfunding campaign, currently live on Crowdcube, has overfunded with plenty of time left to go. At the very least, it was a forced step towards digital healthcare for a public still primarily accustomed to face-to-face GP appointments and waiting in line at Boots. As a result, accessing more routine medication – from antibiotics to contraception – became a bit of an obstacle course. COVID-19 saw GPs close their doors to all but the most urgent of cases.
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