The healthcare e-commerce market is expected to show the highest growth in upcoming years owing to increasing awareness about online medicine, digitalization, and online retailing. Additionally, growing demand for elderly patient's medical supplies, wheelchairs, nutraceuticals, and rare medicines is driving the growth of the healthcare e-commerce market.
The healthcare e-commerce market primarily consists of selling medical supplies and services through online platforms. It also refers to digital commercial activity or electronic business through online purchase and sale of goods and services. It allows healthcare institutions such as health facilities, clinics, and other healthcare organizations to buy medical products and supplies online. Healthcare e-commerce encompasses the purchase and sale of pharmaceutical products, drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics services at convenience, lower prices, and discounted rates which increases the product affordability for the consumer.
Healthcare e-commerce has improved access to quality healthcare services and medicine. Since healthcare e-commerce is more focused on remote and convenient transactions between physician and patient it has the potential to transform the healthcare industry in the same way it has transformed other industries. It has a significant impact on healthcare in many ways. Healthcare e-commerce is changing the perception of traditional healthcare, as evidenced by platforms such as Doctor on Demand, Amazon, Flipkart, and other similar applications. E-commerce in healthcare provides services efficiently with high discounts.
Healthcare e-commerce has greatly improved general consumer access to medical information. As a result, patients and medical professionals can now collaborate to take health-related decisions with more precision. Many patients now refer healthcare e-commerce due to the low price of medicine and medical devices as compared to the offline medical store and to search alternative medicines. It is also used for reviewing and expressing their experience while interacting with doctors. Access to quality healthcare has improved due to e-commerce and telehealth.
Advantages of Healthcare E-commerce
Access
Healthcare E-commerce, first and foremost, has a significant positive impact on the public's access to healthcare information. As a result, patients and physicians can work together to develop more transparent and well-informed healthcare decisions.
Improved Patient Satisfaction
Telemedicine and pharmaceutical online shopping can be combined to create a remarkably seamless patient experience. Within a few hours, patients can speak with a doctors about their medical condition, receive a medical assessment, and have prescriptions and medications delivered to the door without leaving the comfort of ones home.
Efficiency
E-commerce has significantly affected healthcare efficiency. Non-emergency patients are directed away from doctors' offices and hospitals to the online platforms.
Disadvantages of Healthcare E-commerce
Data Security
The security of sensitive medical data is one of the main issues in the healthcare e-commerce sector. Together, e-commerce companies and medical professionals are still working to make sure that all patient data is securely stored, only accessible to authorized users, and shielded from cyberattacks.
Patient-Doctor Relationship
The trust that develops between patients and doctors is essential for achieving the desired therapeutic effect
Some of the Major Players in the Healthcare E-commerce Market include:
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Amazon
• CVS Health
• eBay, Inc.
• Exactcare Pharmacy
• Flipkart Pvt., Ltd.
• Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd.
• McCabes Pharmacy
• Remdi SeniorCare
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
