**** 2014 UPDATE ****
Updating this post now, it seems so much has changed since this was written in 2011.
At PCL, we have noted the number of calls increase recently about applying for NHS Distance Selling/Internet Pharmacy contracts. We have also noticed the number of applications that continue to be refused. Our experience as a consultant to pharmacy means that we have helped many people apply for these contacts and appeal a negative decision.
My advice simply is to do your homework and research what you have to deliver.
Antony can be contacted on 01252 302342 to discuss any internet pharmacy enquiries.
**** END ****
In the twelve years since Pharmacy2U (P2U) was founded in 1999, there has been considerable growth in the overall UK sales volume from Internet pharmacies, albeit this growth has been mostly in retail sales and to some extent in private prescriptions for certain lifestyle conditions.
Certainly the electronic transfer of NHS prescriptions (ETP) has taken a lot longer to come to fruition than pharmacists would have expected or hoped, and this delay has no doubt played a significant part in moderating the overall growth of Internet pharmacy, and moderating the level of interest from potential new market entrants.
A detailed review that I conducted of all UK registered Internet pharmacies, for a pharmacy supplier, showed that whilst many “bricks and mortar” pharmacies now have their own web sites, there are still relatively few generalist pharmacies set up to trade specifically via the Internet. A few of those Internet specialists that do exist are targeting very specific therapy areas or product specialisations where the use of the Internet channel makes good sense. P2U seems to have attracted very few significant Internet specific competitors, and I would estimate that those that exist are well behind P2U in sales volume.
So, for an independent community pharmacy, what place does a web site have? In my view the main opportunity lies in not hoping to sell customers large volumes of medicines, which would be unprofessional anyway, but in using the site to building an additional communication link with its customers, particularly those customers who have embraced the Internet. Whilst this group of customers may not presently represent the majority, in time this group will probably grow faster than any other.
Of course not only a pharmacy web site is needed, but also a regular blog or regular newsletters that gives patients information of relevance, value and interest. Yes, this involves quite a bit of additional work, of signing patients up in the first place and keeping up to date with them electronically, and writing regular short articles. Without doubt though, a good pharmacy web site plus regular customer communications from the site can help to build customer loyalty and is therefore is an activity well worth undertaking.