The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred significant changes in the way businesses to operate. Particularly, it has accelerated the growth of e-commerce, including in the pharmaceutical space. As consumer needs and preferences have evolved, e-commerce has become crucial to healthcare delivery. In this post, I will discuss some of the key tech trends in pharmaceutical e-commerce and the development of online pharmacies.

Online Pharmacy Market

Pharmaceutical e-commerce offers a simple, effective, and transparent way to purchase prescription drugs in both B2B and B2C settings, which makes it an especially attractive, fast-growing market. No wonder the world’s largest e-commerce corporations have doubled down on their online pharmacy investments, followed closely by big pharmaceutical companies that are going digital. Here’s a closer look at this global trend.

According to Future Market Insights the global e-pharmacy market size is expected to reach US$ 351.9 billion by the end of 2033. It is anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities over the forecast period by registering a CAGR of 14.3% from 2023 to 2033.

Take Amazon Pharmacy, an online pharmacy service offered by the e-commerce giant Amazon. It has become a relatively recent addition to the company’s core platform and aims to make filling prescriptions as easy and convenient as other transactions performed on Amazon. Prime members have access to free two-day delivery of orders and to savings of up to 80% off generic and 40% off branded medications when not paying using insurance.

Another major US-based player, CVS Health, has been investing heavily in its digital offerings, including its CVS app that allows customers to refill prescriptions, set medication reminders, and access health resources.

Meanwhile in China, Alibaba Health Information Technology, also known as AliHealth, has launched an online pharmacy platform that offers prescription medications and over-the-counter products. The company also provides telemedicine services and a health management app.

PharmEasy is a similar project in India. PharmEasy's mobile app allows customers to order medications and other healthcare products, as well as book lab tests and consult with a physician.

Harnessing the Cutting-Edge Tech

As the above examples suggest, the growth of pharmaceutical e-commerce falls within a wider trend toward the digitization of the healthcare industry. Both pharmacies and healthcare providers effectively harness technological innovations in areas including telemedicine, AI, blockchain, and the IoT to develop and deliver novel treatments and services.

Integration of technologies gives rise to a new type of service, an e-pharmacy, which potentially can transform beyond its initial scope of selling medications online. By collaborating with other healthcare providers, such as hospitals and clinics, e-pharmacies can offer patients seamless access to a wide range of healthcare services and serve as a central hub for a comprehensive healthcare platform. This emerging trend has the potential to transform the way we think about healthcare, by providing patients with a convenient and holistic approach to managing their health.

Artificial Intelligence

The biggest advantage of AI-driven healthcare is personalisation. E-commerce companies are using AI to develop personalised treatment plans, product recommendations, email marketing, and promotions. AI is also being used to improve the customer experience with chatbots and virtual assistants that can answer customer queries and provide customer support.

When it comes to treatment plans, AI-assisted pharmacists can use data from a patient's medical history, genetics, and lifestyle to manage both acute and chronic conditions. This can help optimise medication therapy and reduce the risk of adverse events.

The patient experience can be further enhanced with AI-enabled chatbots and virtual assistants that can respond to customer queries and provide support. Furthermore, AI can be used to help patients manage their prescribed treatment by sending out alerts that remind them to take medications or refill prescriptions, as well as warnings about potential drug interactions or side effects.

Telemedicine

Many online pharmacies—including Amazon, Hims, Sesame, and CVS, among others—already provide telemedicine consultations. Telemedicine is the practice of using telecommunication and information technologies to provide remote clinical services. This technology can help online pharmacies offer virtual consultations and remote monitoring to patients, increasing access to medical care.

The Internet of Things

IoT devices can monitor patient health and transmit data to healthcare providers, allowing for more personalised treatment plans. With regard to pharmacies, IoT devices can be used to monitor the temperature and humidity levels of pharmaceutical products during shipping and storage.

Blockchain

In the pharmaceutical industry, Blockchain technology can be utilised to improve supply chain transparency and prevent counterfeiting. With blockchain, e-commerce companies can track the movement of pharmaceutical products from the manufacturer to the end consumer, ensuring that the products are authentic and have not been tampered with.

Each transaction or movement of the product is recorded on the blockchain, creating an immutable trail of the product's journey. If a pharmaceutical product has been compromised during transportation, the blockchain will show an irregularity in its movement, allowing the e-commerce company to investigate and take appropriate action. One example of a company using blockchain in the pharmaceutical industry is Blockpharma, a French startup that is using blockchain and ML to combat medicine counterfeiting.

Alibaba Case

A more prominent example is the case of Alibaba Health Information Technology, a subsidiary of Chinese online retail giant Alibaba. The company has created a one-stop healthcare platform and provides a comprehensive range of clinical services, including online consultation, medicine delivery, and appointment booking.

Aside from conventional medical care, Alibaba Health has also partnered with Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals so that patients can consult with traditional healthcare practitioners remotely and receive prescribed herbal medicine through Alibaba Health's logistics network.

Additionally, Alibaba Health has developed a medication traceability system to ensure the authenticity and safety of the drugs sold on their platform. This system uses blockchain technology to track the entire supply chain of a drug, from production to distribution.

Alibaba Health's online pharmacy business has been particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when online consultations and medicine delivery have made it easier for patients to access the healthcare they need while minimising their exposure to the virus.

This makes Alibaba Health's e-commerce pharmaceutical business a prime example of the potential for technology to revolutionise healthcare.

By investing in advanced tech, Alibaba Health is transforming the way medical care is delivered in China and setting a precedent for the rest of the world.

To conclude

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce, particularly in the pharmaceutical space, as consumer needs and preferences have evolved. The growth of pharmaceutical e-commerce falls within a wider trend toward the digitization of the healthcare industry, which integrates technologies such as telemedicine, AI, blockchain, and the IoT to develop and deliver novel treatments and services.

These technologies can help personalise treatment plans, improve the customer experience, increase access to medical care, monitor patient health and transmit data, improve supply chain transparency, and prevent counterfeiting. The case of Alibaba Health Information Technology demonstrates how a one-stop healthcare platform can provide a comprehensive range of clinical services, including online consultation, medicine delivery, and appointment booking.