Savings Prescription

 

- Rounak K. Gunjan and Devanjana Nag

When it comes to medication, costs can be prohibitive for various reasons, but two stands out the most—what the doctors prescribe and where you buy the medicines from. For instance, at times even a common multivitamin could cost you a bomb depending on the pharmaceutical company manufacturing it. There is also a chance that your doctor has prescribed a drug by a particular pharmaceutical company instead of a generic name of the drug, as mentioned in the Medical Council of India (Professional Conduct, Etiquette, and Ethics) Regulation 2002. Sensing an opportunity, entrepreneurs have stepped in with smart alternatives.

Several tech-based healthcare companies have mushroomed which offer prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs with 10 to 30 percent off the MRP. For patients on long-term medication, this alternative is a big boon. The modus operandi for these apps and online pharmacies is somewhat similar—the economies of scale and enhanced logistics work in their favour. For instance, many of them don’t stock medicines at all but have tied-up with local pharmacies which manage the last-mile delivery.