Medicine delivery app development: How your pharmacy can sell online

22 Mar 2020

Since you’re in the pharmacy business, you know how tough it is to keep your brand moving and keep up with the competition. Today, pharmacy owners adopt various business development strategies. They invest in advertising, offer discounts, and build a strong online presence. All these strategies pursue the goal of building strong customer relationships and growing revenue.

Statistics show that modern customers prefer buying medications online. No wonder medicine delivery apps are growing in popularity.

Below, we share information about developing an app that delivers medicine. Upgrade your knowledge and start building your own pharmacy delivery app from scratch.

A game changer in the pharmacy industry

An online medicine delivery app enables customers to order doorstep delivery of pharmacy products. A delivery app is a game changer in the pharmacy industry. Until recently, there wasn’t any alternative to buying medicine at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy.

Customers can use a pharmacy app to browse many categories of medications. Once they find what they need, they can add it to the cart and proceed to checkout. Users can then make instant secure payments and receive delivery updates.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_1

Source: medsonway.com

An app that delivers medicine solves a problem for customers who need medications but don’t want to wait in line at a pharmacy. By improving the buying experience, a pharmacy can retain regular customers and win new ones.

But escaping long lines isn’t the only reason medicine delivery apps are popular. If you want to know what customers favor these apps for, check out the list of reasons below.

Five reasons why medicine delivery apps are a trend

Our team has looked at why users choose medicine delivery apps. These are the five main reasons we’ve identified:

Privacy. Customers at traditional pharmacies often feel uncomfortable buying prescription and over-the-counter medications in front of others. They prefer the privacy of buying online.
Push notifications. An online medicine delivery app offers scheduled notifications, saving users from running out of medicine and forgetting to refill their prescriptions.
No travel costs. Since medications are delivered to the doorstep, customers save money on going to brick-and-mortar pharmacies. This is especially convenient for buyers in remote areas.
Information about medications. Сustomers can browse for detailed information on medications and study all the instructions.
More competitive prices. When buying online, customers can quickly find a more competitively priced generic for their expensive prescription medications.

Now let’s talk about the technical aspects of online pharmacy app development. How can you build a pharmacy delivery app? What features are must-haves?

Four basic user roles in a medicine delivery app

Your medicine delivery application should feature role-based user permissions. Each permission type should give access to a certain feature stack.

We suggest you go with four user roles: customer, pharmacist, admin, and in-house courier. Below, you’ll find a detailed list of the features required for each role.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_111

Source: Globaldev

Globaldev advice: Your app will stand out if you implement a few advanced features. For example, it can implement a medication reminder feature (check out the image below) for people taking many pills throughout the day. Another advanced feature is a chat box so users can get in touch with a pharmacist and ask about medications.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_3

Source: Creativemarket.com

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_4

Source: Globaldev

Globaldev advice: For better order management and control, pharmacy staff can use a web-based interface like the one shown below.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_5

Source: Elluminatiinc.com

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_222

Source: Globaldev

Globaldev’s remark: It’s the pharmacy owner who decides on the type of delivery to offer. Some businesses create in-house delivery teams. Others choose to outsource medicine delivery services to third parties in the style of an Uber pharmacy delivery.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_7

Source: arkasoftwares.com

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_11

Source: Globaldev

Top 6 medicine delivery apps

Let’s have a closer look at how all these features can be combined in one mobile application. Below, we share the list of top 6 medicine delivery apps that grew in popularity years ago and keep developing to offer the users the best buying experience.

Capsule

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_1

Source: Capsule.com

Capsule is a New York-based medicine delivery app offering same-day free medication delivery. The app was developed in 2016 after Eric Kinariwala had had a bad experience waiting in a long line to get his medication at a local pharmacy. He decided to offer millions of New Yorkers a better medicine buying experience.

The app has become a huge convenience in pre-COVID times. Today, it is an unquestionable tool for the most vulnerable people and all those that don’t want to be exposed to the virus.

After creating the Capsule account, a user can transfer their prescription from a usual pharmacy to Capsule. For this, they complete an online form. Then, they receive a text message to schedule free delivery. Their medication is delivered to their home or office on the same day.

CVS

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_2

Source: CVS.com

CVS Pharmacy serves over 9,600 areas across the United States delivering orders within hours. Through the application, users have their allergy, cold, and pain relief medications delivered. They also order personal care products, vitamins, and first-aid kits. Recently, the pharmacy has started cooperating with an autonomous vehicle startup Nuro to deliver orders in Houston.

An intuitive and user-friendly mobile platform gives its users access to many shopping and management features. Users can do more than just shop at home or on the go. They also can refill their prescriptions, check information about drug interactions, or receive medication reminders. Plus, when entering descriptive pill information like shape, color, and imprint, they can identify pills.

NowRx

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_3

Source: NowRx.com

NowRx is one of the major US medication delivery services operating via a mobile app. This application offers numerous helpful tools both to doctors and physicians. Through the app, users can upload photos of their actual paper prescriptions and place orders for delivery. They can schedule delivery for a convenient time and even manage prescriptions for their family members. The app provides users with reminders when they need to take their pills or refill their prescriptions.

Apart from using some general features, users can book video calls with pharmacists. Through their app, pharmacists can access analytics, prescription statuses, and insurance data.

PillPack

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_4

Source: PillPack.com

The pharmacy is owned and fully operated by Amazon. In addition to the standard order and delivery features that PillPack offers alongside other similar applications, it also provides some extra options.

Users with active pill pack accounts can provide their caregivers (family members and loved ones) with access to their profiles. Through this feature, their family members can be in the loop and get in touch with a pharmacist whenever questions arise.

Plus, PillPack app users don’t simply have their medications delivered. All medications are sorted by time and dosage prescribed. This makes it easier for patients to avoid overdosing or skipping their dose.

PharmEasy

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_5

Source: PharmEasy.com

To order via the PharmEasy app, users filter through the list of medicines, upload prescriptions or directions from certified physicians, and specify the delivery address. The order is usually delivered within 24-48 hours.

Through the app, users can order OTC and healthcare products as well as medical equipment. They use at least a 15 % discount on every order and are often provided with additional special offers. When placing an order, they can also find valuable information about the medications that they order: the direction of use, recommended dosage, interactions, contraindications, side effects, and warnings.

Plus, the app provides users with the ability to book diagnostic tests like blood tests, preventive and full body checkups.

NetMeds

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_6

Source: NetMeds.com

NetMeds is an India-based medicine delivery application that offers its users a vast range of medicines: prescribed meds, homeopathy meds, fitness-related products, dietary supplements, and OTP meds.

The app offers discounts and special offers daily. Plus, users can earn bonuses by referring NetMeds to their family members and friends.

Through NetMeds, users can place orders and use hassle-free payment options, explore valuable health information, refill their medications, consult a doctor, and track order status in real-time.

How much does it cost to develop a medicine delivery app?

Once you decide to develop your own medicine delivery app, you’ll want to know the cost of medicine delivery app development. The cost depends on three main criteria.

The number of dashboards and the features in each dashboard. Online pharmacy app developers need a certain number of hours to implement every feature.

Hourly development rate. This depends on the location of your pharmacy app developers. Have a look at the map below to see average rates around the world.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_90

Source: Globaldev

Number of platforms. An app for one platform will cost about the same amount whether you’re developing for iOS or Android. If you build a mobile app for both platforms, the cost of online medicine delivery app development will rise. Android and iOS differ in terms of market share. To choose the platform for your app, you need to decide what audience you would like to reach.

medicine_delivery_app_development_how_your_pharmacy_can_sell_online_image_10

Source: deviceatlas.com

Want to learn more about our medicine delivery app development experience?

Check out the case study below to learn about the resources it took to build an eCommerce healthcare portal, as well as the functionality, user roles, and design of the solution.