PM Health and Life Care (PMHLC) will soon launch an online market place which connects chemists and druggists with consumers. Hemant Bhardwaj, Co Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PMHLC, reveals more to Sachin Jagdale
Don’t you think that purchasing drugs online also makes customers more vulnerable towards buying spurious drugs?
The source of medicines is the key to determine the extent of spurious drugs in the supply chain. It’s immaterial whether the seller is selling online or offline. PMHLC is 100 per cent committed to ensure zero spurious supply. It will not just strive to partner only those retailers who enjoy massive trust of the consumers, but will also put in use technology and processes to ensure spurious drugs don’t seep into its supply chain.
Does acquiring drugs online offers any cost benefits to the customer? Will your services be cost effective?
The three key expectations of a consumer, from a pharmacy retailer, are 1) high probability of availability of the medicines, prescribed by his doctor 2) no fake or spurious medicines and 3) quick delivery. Our marketplace will ensure that we delight him on these fronts. Having said that, we will surely have schemes that will reward our loyal customers.
If I am pushed to evaluate it from cost benefit perspective, I will say there will be huge saving for those customers who value time. An online channel enables the consumer to order anytime from where ever he is and he can receive the medicines in the quickest possible time at the time and the place he prefers. It’s just that in our case, at the time of the delivery, one has to present the original prescription so that it can be stamped, as per the regulations.
What are the ways for the patient to verify whether the seller is authentic with all necessary approvals in place? Have you made any special arrangements in this regards for your customers?
Ours will be a ‘managed market place’. Only those retailers, who commit to remain fully compliant with our government regulations and our terms and conditions, will be signed up to be part of our network. In addition, we will do surprise checks. If we will find any of our partners, flouting any norm or rules, they will no more remain part of our network. And I am sure they would not like to lose such voluminous business.
The convenience of buying medicines online will not replace the direct interaction between patient and the doctor. What do you think? Will doctors also be the part of your business?
I don’t see why one should try and replace the direct interaction between the patient and the doctor. We strongly believe that the role of a chemists and druggists is to dispense medicines as prescribed by a registered medical practitioner. That’s why we won’t allow any kind of substitution of medicines, on our platform.
In which parts of the country you are going to launch your services and when?
We will launch our services in Q3 of 2015, and plan to cover 100 cities, within a span of two years.
Do you think that in future online drug stores will pose major competition for retail drug stores?
Pharma retailing market, in India, is going to become US $ 56 billion by 2012. It will offer enough opportunity for every player, big or small, online or offline. Moreover, PMHLC plans to target only those consumers who prefer to buy products and services online.
Online pharmacies is still not that popular concept in India. Still you see the business potential here?
Currently 40 million Indians are shopping online. Soon this tribe is going to cross 100 million mark. If retailers in other categories are benefiting from this new channel, why should pharma retailers get left behind? PMHLC’s endeavour will be to build a technology platform that is compliant with the law of the land, so that both consumers and providers transact without any hassle.
What is going to be your growth model over the next few years?
Our long term goal is to build a ‘health exchange’. The health exchange will meet the latent need of the consumers, pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, home care services, emergency services, diagnostic centres and doctors, to make quality healthcare accessible and efficient to a large population. Our online managed marketplace for chemists and druggists is the first step in that direction.
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