The global pharmaceutical market has experienced significant growth in recent years. As of end-2020, the total global pharmaceutical market was valued at about 1.27 trillion U.S. dollars. This is a significant increase from 2001 when the market was valued at just 390 billion U.S. dollars. The pharmaceutical market plays a key role in how people get medications and what people pay for medication.
Online sales of drugs started in the late 1990s and began to spread rapidly around the world. With this rapid transition, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened a section on its official website under the heading "Buying drugs on the Internet" and emphasized that people should be careful against illegal online pharmacies with the guidelines it published.
The advantages and disadvantages of online pharmacies have become a subject of great debate today. In order to understand the subject clearly, it is necessary to compare the advantages and disadvantages of online pharmacies in detail.
Introduction
Online pharmacy, cyber pharmacy, e-pharmacy or mail-orders pharmacy is simply the ones that are run over the internet, selling treatments and deliver them to clients by a sender or mail. It offers a variety of products from beauty products, over-the-counter medications (that do not need a prescription) and prescription medications (which necessitate a prescription issued by an accredited doctor).
How e-Pharmacies work
The process is overall simple and relatively convenient for patients. At first doctors prescribe medication to the patients. Secondly, the patient submits the prescription to the e-pharmacy websites or mobile apps. Thirdly, the patient registers their phone number and contact information and in the end, their medication will be delivered at their home.
Pros of an e-Pharmacies
The Internet is making all the things easy and convenient. Patients can now buy use of prescription of registered medical practitioner order the medicines via use of internet and receive them at their own doorsteps. They are a massive hit and more and more people are opting to use them rather than stroll down to local pharmacy.
Convenience
It is easy to order online medicines with prescription. Individuals who live great distances from a terrestrial pharmacy, the elderly, disabled persons, and those whose daily schedules includes additional hassles, all can benefit from the easy and fast purchasing of medicines online. Additionally, shipping charges are often less than the expense incurred from travel costs associated with a visit to a traditional pharmacy.
Time Saving
One of the most important advantages of the e-pharmacy application is time saving. You can order your medication within minutes and get your prescription medicines very quickly. All you have to do is to place an order by entering the prescription through the mobile application or website. You do not have to go to the pharmacy and you will not be faced with waiting in line at the pharmacy.
Private and Confidential
This system provides great convenience especially for those who are afraid of talking face to face with doctors and pharmacists. In addition, people are able to order medications without any drawback on special issues such as sexuality or adolescence that may be a source of embarrassment.
Range of Choices
e-pharmacies offer a much wider range of options than a traditional pharmacy, provides a great advantage to patients. It is not possible to find every drug in a physical pharmacy in a particular area, but there are many more drug options available in general drug stores.
Medical Information
Some online pharmacies share useful information about medicines and illnesses. It provides links to useful information, as well as important medical resources, universities, and government agencies.
Conventional Pharmacies
Pharmacists are the health professionals most accessible to the public. They supply medicines in accordance with a prescription or, when legally permitted, sell them without a prescription in local pharmacies. In addition to ensuring an accurate supply of appropriate products, their professional activities also cover counselling of patients at the time of dispensing of prescription and non-prescription drugs, drug information to health professionals, patients and the general public, and participation in health-promotion programs.
Pros of Conventional Pharmacies
On the contrary, the conventional pharmacies offer fewer advantages. in local pharmacies, the pharmacists seeks to collect and integrate information about the patient’s drug history, clarify the patient’s understanding of the intended dosage regimen and method of administration, and advises the patient of drug-related precautions, and in some countries, monitors and evaluates the therapeutic response.
Cons of Conventional Pharmacies
Some of the most important disadvantages of conventional pharmacies can be read as follows:
Time
Sometimes drugs are not available at nearby pharmacy store they may prove to be time consuming for the elderly and busy scheduled peoples to see proper drugs at right time to prevent the risk of patients health.
Price
The price of drugs is more than online pharmacy medicines due to middle mans profit. The patient due to its poverty may find difficulty in buying costly and branded drugs which may prolong its long term diseases.
Inconvenience
Chronic elderly patients who are not able to go to pharmacy store may cause difficulty in finding the stores situated at long distances or unrelated places.
Get your Prescriptions Filled at PlusVirtual
If you are looking for a reliable and safe online pharmacy, PlusVirtual can help. We prioritize your safety about all else and have the necessary processes in place to make sure you receive authentic medicines that are safe to use.
We also have pharmacists on board that can offer advice on your prescriptions. PlusVirtual also makes sure your personal data remains protected. We have strict policies and practices in place for managing your data safely and securely.
Besides this, PlusVirtual employs HIPAA-certified drivers for delivering your medication.
If you are interested in knowing more about how digital pharmacies operate, please feel free to get in touch with us. Click here to get registered with PlusVirtual and get your medication delivered to your home today!