for chronic diseases such
as Alzheimer’s, asthma,
diabetes, cancer, etc.
Some major e-pharmacies
in India include Medlife,
Netmeds, PharmEasy,
and 1MG.Safety first
Even though online shop-
ping has taken off in a big
way in India, most buyers
are a bit queasy placing
their faith in faceless, online
companies for medicines. A
few court rulings last year on the legal-
ity of these platforms have not helped
matters. Last year, the Delhi High Court
directed the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare to draft policy guide-
lines for regulating and authenticating
the e-pharma market, which have been
released. “Right at the outset, Medlife
voluntarily followed a stringent self-
regulation process incorporating fea-
tures like ‘no sale without prescription’,
‘sale of only genuine medicines’, etc.,” a
spokesperson of Medlife says.
In fact, the industry has come
together to form the Digital Health
Platform to practise self-regulation.
Some of their guidelines: Every medi-
cine will be sold against a valid Rx
prescribed by a registered medical
practitioner; medicines will be sold
only via licensed pharmacies; drugs
that can be potentially abused and
psychotropic drugs are never to be
in sold over these platforms. They also
di
ap
ct
ur
e
readersdigest.co.in 43assure that their consumers’
personal information will
remain confidential.
Medlife asserts that their
platform is as safe as any
brick-and-mortar phar-
macy. It claims having as
many as 39 quality checks
from the time an order is
placed until the customer
receives it.Key points to consider
ÊNever buy from an
entity that does not require
a doctor’s prescription.
ÊA valid invoice should come with a li-
cence, GST, expiry date and batch num-
bers of the medicines that you procure.
ÊAlways read user reviews before you
pick a platform.
As for the discounts that attract many
such as myself, it seems these will con-
tinue to rain for some time to come.
“We believe that affordability is only
a part of the impetus; convenience
plays an equal part. Every business
has experienced a ‘discounting phase’
as retail migrated from storefront to
e-commerce, as the economies of scale
and the savings inherent to no-rent, no-
sales staff, etc., have been passed on to
the consumer,” says Bruce Schwack,
director of communications, Netmeds.
Net net, e-pharmacies are generally
safe as well as economical compared
to your neighbourhood chemist. Just
make sure you choose a reliable plat-
form before you try them out.Don’t wait until
you are out of
medicines to
make a pur-
chase online, as
it may take a
day or two for
delivery.