Virtual pharmacists, electronic medication lists, ready-made daily dose pouches, and electronic mandates – the digital channel offered by Suomen Apteekkariliitto to its members will soon enable a lot for both entrepreneurs and customers alike.

Online pharmacies are sales channels on the web for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, as well as other pharmaceutical products, from pharmacies operating throughout Finland. It's not a new concept in Finland, but the demand for online pharmacies had been quite modest until now.

When the coronavirus hit, many things changed in the way we conduct transactions – including visits to pharmacies. Few could predict a completely new user base for online pharmacies.

Our seniors, who were ordered to stay home, turned out to be surprisingly ready for digitalisation.

"There was a spike in user numbers in the spring of 2020 rapidly, in just a few days. Customers over 60 years old took over the user statistics from 30-year-olds, who previously formed the largest customer base. The group that uses pharmacy services the most overall was seen as the largest group online for the first time," explains Charlotta Sandler, the pharmaceutical director of Apteekkariliitto.

Photo: Brandphoto. Charlotta Sandler, Pharmaceutical Director of Apteekkariliitto.

The online pharmacy had to be up to par, so to speak, swiftly. In the major change of autumn 2020, Crasman joined in building a responsible growth spurt in the pharmacy sector and took the development of the eApteekki platform created for the Magento e-commerce system.

The demand created by the new user group requires an online pharmacy to have an easy-to-use interface and reliable functionality. Over 100 online pharmacies operate on a shared cloud platform, with more on the way, as Apteekkariliitto anticipates a significant increase in the prevalence of digital channels in the coming years. So, what is changing in the pharmacy field?

Building responsible and service-oriented pharmacies online

“There will be a demand for local pharmacies in the future, but the digital channel offers a new kind of flexibility to services, for instance, in the form of different delivery methods, remote consultations, and proxy services,” states Charlotta Sandler.
The online pharmacy in Finland is tied to an individual pharmacy license. This arrangement ensures that pharmacies will continue to serve in brick-and-mortar locations in remote areas.

Medicines require standardized conditions even during transport. For this reason, warehouses are needed all over Finland, and a central warehouse operation is not even a goal for medications.
Charlotta Sandler emphasizes the healthcare responsibility and obligation of all pharmacy activities in an online pharmacy: Not only are medicines purchased from a pharmacy but also advice on their safe use.

A personal connection is also made with the pharmacist online when ordering prescription medicines. Additionally, other advisory services are available if desired by phone, messaging, and chat.

Order and collect – also on behalf of a loved one

Currently, the most common method of using an online pharmacy is ordering medicines online to one's own local pharmacy or a collection locker. Very local, then – less than half of the orders are delivered to customers by post or, for example, via express delivery by taxi.

Soon, you will be able to conduct transactions on behalf of a loved one at an online pharmacy with a suomi.fi mandate and identification. This will facilitate the care of aging parents living in different localities by their children.

It will also soon be possible to obtain your own children's medicines from the online pharmacy. Previously, this was only possible in-store, as a child cannot identify him or herself electronically.

Virtual pharmacists and medication subscriptions

The Finnish pharmacy system is already highly digitalized. For example, Germany is only now considering electronic prescriptions, whereas we have been using them for ten years now.

The online pharmacy will continue this development, and in the future, the customer's service journey will become even smoother, as service challenges related to, for example, the reimbursement system are resolved with the assistance of officials.

Charlotta Sandler sees nothing but possibilities for the future of online pharmacies.

From virtual pharmacists to patients’ electronic medication lists, easy reordering of regular medications to ordering regular medications in ready-made daily dose pouches – the future of pharmacy services looks like a promising combination of local and digital.

Would you like to know more? Explore eApteekki.