Karnataka drugs control department has commenced an investigation drive against MedPlus the retail pharmacy chain which has recently launched its online pharmacy service medplusmart com
medplusmart.com insists on production of prescription for all medicines, enables customers to book medicines, read important facts about prescribed drugs, compare alternative prices, print own pharmacy bills and provide 15 per cent discount for all medicines.
“Our enforcement team is now examining the MedPlus issue,” Raghurama Bhandary, Karnataka drugs controller told Pharmabiz, adding that until the investigation is through no details could be disclosed.
Earlier the Karnataka drugs control department has cancelled the licenses of three online pharmacy services, as there was a clear violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules there under.
Following the MedPlus advertisement, The Bangalore District Chemists & Druggists Association had insisted that the Karnataka drugs control department needed to provide a better insight into the issue of online pharmacy services.
In response to the information sought by and allegations made by BDCDA, MedPlus issued a clarification stating that its online service, ‘Click, Pick & Save’ offered through its online gateway ‘medplusmart.com’, was in complete compliance with the guidelines of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945.
“We have taken several steps to change the medicine buying experience in India for the better. We pioneered value pricing, improved store ambience, air conditioned outlets to preserve the efficacy of medicines, and innovate the supply chain to improve medicine availability to the customers” said Dr. Madhukar Gangadi, chief executive officer, MedPlus Health Services Pvt Ltd.
medplusmart.com is not a traditional e-commerce service. It does not sell medicines directly online to customers. Instead, it only enables the customer to place orders for medicines and other general products. The customers need to pick up medicines from any MedPlus physical store after displaying a valid doctor prescription to the pharmacist at each of its licensed outlet, he added.
The retail pharmacy chief also went on to state that no medicines would be delivered based on an email or a phone request and there was no home delivery via courier service too. For those unable to read prescriptions, could upload the same only to speed up delivery when the customer comes to collect the order. “The greatest benefit for customers is the elimination of uncertainty about the medicine availability. Earlier they needed to choose from 3,000 to 4,000 products at the store. By using the online service customers could select from over 30,000 products virtually guaranteeing its availability, he said.
Other benefits of the online service are access to prescribed medicine information, viewing purchase history, print tax bills and compare prices of alternative medicines with the same composition. “Since the medicine dispensing happens only at the store only on a prescription issued by a doctor, there is no conflict with the existing rules under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act,” pointed out Gangadi.
Clarifying on the discount offer, he said “Better pricing was attributed because of our scale and ability to source better. Our medicines are only from manufacturers or their direct representatives and not from wholesalers, therefore medicine quality is guaranteed. The automated systems prevent sale of expiry medicines which are easily traced. Since, all transactions are billed, it leads to transparency, allows customer to review entire purchase history besides benefits from reimbursements and tax savings”.