UK online pharmacies have flourished during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 has impacted a number of industries, pushing such sectors as hospitality and retail to the brink of collapse.
But there have been countless other businesses that have flourished since the pandemic hit, with online pharmacies a notable stand-out.
Online pharmacies provide expert, trustworthy healthcare advice
Throughout the pandemic, online pharmacies acted as a vital source of expert healthcare advice.
While the NHS website remained a go-to source of information and advice for many patients, online pharmacies offered further advice alongside a more personal service — a digital community pharmacy.
Pharmacists working online are able to provide credible, authoritative advice to patients, tailored to their unique needs, regardless of where they are in the world.
In a time when fake news and unsubstantiated healthcare claims are rife — President Donald Trump’s support for hydroxychloroquine as a cure is a notable example — registered online pharmacies are a vital source of fact-checked and reliable information.
Scott McDougall (MPharm), co-founder of The Independent Pharmacy, highlighted the role of the online pharmacy during COVID:
“Since the lockdown, we experienced a significant upsurge in traffic for our healthcare guides, many relating to issues related to coronavirus and the lockdown: weight loss, smoking cessation, asthma, and so on.
“Such an increase indicates a patient-driven focus for independent and authoritative health advice. Crucially, it shows a desire for digital communications, web-based advice that is accessible from the comfort (and, for high-risk patients in particular, safety) of their own homes.”
As the pandemic looks set to be part of our lives for some time to come, the online pharmacy’s role as healthcare resource and digital doctor will only become more valuable.
A vital part of the UK’s healthcare infrastructure
With community pharmacies shut, local GP resources limited, and social contact restricted, online pharmacies became a readily accessible source of support and medicine.
While coronavirus took centrestage, the daily healthcare issues of the public remained, and online pharmacies were essential in shouldering the increased workload.
Online pharmacies offer a contact-free way for patients to fill prescriptions and buy medicine, without the risk of transmission. Indeed, for patients in self-isolation, shielding, or simply limiting their contact with other people, the online pharmacy is a vital lifeline.
Phone or online consultations negate the need to leave the house while ensuring they receive medical advice from qualified healthcare professionals.
Even as GP practices offer more appointments, online pharmacies remain an essential part of the UK’s healthcare infrastructure, easing the load by fielding patient queries that can be resolved without the input of a GP.
Protecting patients against the dangers of fake medicine
Since the pandemic hit, there have been numerous instances of fake medicines and medical supplies reaching consumers.
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are nothing new, and are a serious and growing problem in the medical industry.
But with the arrival of COVID, unscrupulous individuals have taken the opportunity to flood the market with cheap, counterfeit medicines.
While China and India, the world’s two largest manufacturers of medical products, were in lockdown, the demand quickly outstripped supply.
As a result, the trade for counterfeit, substandard medicines and PPE soared.
In March, Interpol seized more than $14 million worth of counterfeit medical products from 90 countries. Among the haul were substandard face masks and sprays, tablets, and creams falsely purported to cure or treat the virus.
In the face of this surge in counterfeit and dangerous products, online pharmacies offer a safe, reliable source of medicine that is available online but with a high degree of safety.
Legitimate online pharmacies are registered with a number of regulatory organisations, including:
l General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
l Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
l Care Quality Commission (CQC)
As well as registering with these bodies, such legitimate pharmacies use a number of safeguards throughout the supply chain to prevent tampering and strengthen security.
These include radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on products, time-stamped packaging with blockchain, and handheld spectrometers to detect the chemical composition of products.
Together, these safeguards ensure patient safety and prevent counterfeit medicines from ever reaching legitimate online pharmacies and their patients.
Coronavirus is here for the long-term — this much is true. As social distancing, self-isolation, and shielding becomes the norm, online pharmacies will continue to play a vital role in national healthcare infrastructure.
(Syndicated press content is neither written, edited or endorsed by ED Times)
