We were suddenly plunged into a world where we could no longer just pop to the shop (without standing in an incredibly long queue first), we could no longer get on public transport unless we had a mask to hand, we could no longer see our grandmas!
It’s fair to say that we all had varying ideas of what impact this pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns, could have on us. One thing is that it has massively swung the world in favour of the internet in the frequent “Is it good or bad?” debates. It’s our way of doing absolutely everything now. It’s seeped into every part of our lives. Social lives, work, food, health?
The last one was I believe one of the most unexpected for many. But it makes sense. Why wouldn’t the health industry follow suit. And why wouldn’t customers want it to? You can do everything else online right?
Many pharmacies have adapted to these times and got themselves an App and a platform to manage their services and repeat prescriptions. These have allowed them to not only hold on to their existing patients, but also allowed them to adopt new ones.
The problem now is other companies, such as Amazon, have seen the incredible demand for being able to order your prescriptions online and may soon launch their own Amazon Pharmacy. Through this feature, patients will be able to order their prescriptions via an app, similar to what Healthera Pharmacies have been able to do.
This news has understandably caused concern for many independent pharmacies. This year alone, they have felt the effect of the tens of thousands of patients moving towards online pharmacies each month.
We’ve seen this exact trend happen before with the high street. The ease of ordering online – on your phone or laptop – was far too tempting for many high street stores to survive. Local pharmacies were some of the few that weren’t affected too much. But with the rise of online pharmacies, and now retail giant Amazon, this may unfortunately change.
Healthera
Healthera operates a leading healthcare marketplace that provides patients with medicines, healthcare services and products through the largest digital platform of pharmacies and GPs in the UK, including national chains and independent providers. Download Healthera App to order NHS repeat prescription online!
