Forrester Predicts Online Pharmacy Boom
Online pharmacy sites will use patient compliance programs
to add $1.3 billion to their top lines by 2004, says a Forrester Research report. Although online demand for prescription drugs is growing, online pharmacy leaders are struggling with underdeveloped
infrastructures. One reason is that many insurers limit patients to
ordering drugs from a single mail-service provider to concentrate
bulk-buying discounts, says Forrester. In addition, delivery delays, often
increased by the time it takes to verify first-time and renewal scripts,
discourage patients from ordering drugs online. Further, a fragmented
regulatory system continues to cost online pharmacies resources in order
to comply with divergent state regulations.
"Forrester believes that online pharmacies will rise to the challenge of
selling prescription drugs online-ringing up $15 billion in sales in
2004," says Elizabeth W. Boehm, a company analyst. "To meet growing demand
and capture market share, ePharmacies will build a strong foundation to
deliver products and leverage compliance services that boost revenues."
During the next 12 months, online pharmacies will forge stronger ties with
insurance partners by integrating with insurer systems to provide the same
real-time copay information that offline stores provide, it says. Online
pharmacies with brick-and-mortar parents will go beyond order-entry
systems and unify customers' experiences across channels. Online
pharmacies also will help drive electronic prescription adoption by
creating a standard interface as well as lobbying for standards across
state regulations, says Forrester.
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