Med**** – The Big Basket of Meds with a twist.

Did my title confuse you? Were you elated for a few microseconds and then concerned about those really fine prints of the Terms and Conditions?

Allow me to present my case on Med**** which has really got me excited, not only because I can get my folks’ medicines on a discounted price but Med**** as a concept per se. Med**** is not your regular e-pharmacy that caters to you directly. It is an online marketplace which somewhat works on the business model of your favourite Amazon, a lead generation platform, Med**** connects both the buyer and the seller.

So how does that benefit you as a consumer? Med**** not only provides you with exciting discounts but also helps you locate your nearest Pharmacy from where you can pick your order at one go.

Did I hear you say, “I might as well get it from the medical store myself!” Of course, you may, but I hope you have not forgotten those many, many days when you ran from one medical store’s pillar to another medical store’s post just to hear the three dreaded words “out of stock” or “not sold here”.

Now that I have your attention back on this innovative start-up, What Med**** does, once you upload your prescription (either on their website or via their upcoming mobile app) is, collaborate with the pharmacies near you and get all your medicines at the closest store to you. Once done, you will get a notification that your medicine kit is ready and all you need to do is walk in, pay and walk out with all your medicines. You also get good discounts, which otherwise the pharmacy might not offer.

All this is done in a time frame of an hour or so, barring a few rare cases where it can spill over to the following day. Currently, Med**** is offering cash-only transactions, but will soon be coming up with online payment options. This brings me to another scenario, the ever-increasing online presence of e-pharmacies.

Though in its nascent stages, the e-pharmacies are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the deadlines, which invariably lead to a loss of clientele. This sector is also hounded by the confusing laws of our country, which clearly state that medicines can be sold only by a registered pharmacy that has a retail license. The pharmacy should have a registered pharmacist on the payroll.

The pharmaceutical industry is a bit like the agricultural sector, which suffers due to lack of technology. In the present era, it has become imperative and critical for this industry to grow technologically. Most, if not all pharmacies do not have basic inventory management systems.

According to start-up data tracker Tracxn, the e-pharmacy sector has attracted $92.6 million funding with over $70 million coming only in 2015. Over 31 start-ups were launched last year. The major chunk of investment announced by Netmeds ($60 million), followed by 1MG ($6 million) and Zigy ($3.2 million). Both Netmeds and 1MG also run a marketplace model, don’t own a pharma retail license.

“If you are working as a marketplace, you are working on the license of one of your vendors. Inventory is not held by the marketplace, it is held by the vendors,” said Bhardwaj, co-founder of Zigy, another e-pharmacy venture.

This whole concept makes me a bit uncomfortable. Call me old-fashioned or a person having trust issues, but working on a license of a vendor, who may or may not be genuine is something that cannot be ascertained for sure.

Med**** has come in as that refreshing change in such a situation.

As individuals, we are usually aware and know the local pharmacy, thus getting your prescriptions from the same place but without having the hassle to move out and haggle with them, is something that we all would love.

Is it the culmination of the “Pharmacy-going-era”? Apparently not.

India is only getting used to the concept of online shopping with a large section of consumers still preferring to give a “personal touch” to their buying experience. However, a digital society is on the horizon and Med**** brings good tidings.