Digital Pharmacy Market Size and Forecasts, Global and Regional Share, Trends, and Growth Opportunity Analysis Report Coverage: By Drug Type, Product, Platform, and Geography

The digital pharmacy market is expected to grow from US$ 96.428 billion in 2022 to US$ 363.878 billion by 2030; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.1% from 2022 to 2030. Upsurge in online purchase of prescription medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing inclination toward online platforms are a few factors driving the digital pharmacy market growth.

A digital pharmacy is a licensed pharmacy covering an entity combining high-tech and efficient solutions through a personal touch that helps commercialize new, existing, and digital therapies. The solution simplifies the process of filling a prescription, enhances stakeholders' experiences, and clarifies the prescription journey with actionable insights for biopharma manufacturers. For example, digital pharmacies can help biopharma companies remove barriers, enabling dispensing pharmacies to receive clean and ready-to-dispense prescriptions.

Market Trend

Innovative E-Pharmacy Model
According to the published report by SHOPS Plus in December 2019, Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus
The project team in India announced a partnership with the State Government of Madhya Pradesh and the pharmaceutical company Medlife International to launch an innovative, drug-to-doorstep e-pharmacy model to fight against tuberculosis (TB). The SHOPS Plus Prohect team designed the service delivery model to strengthen the TB services through an e-pharmacy model/platform. For example, in India, the TB epidemic is declining. However, the country still holds the most significant number of TB patients, with half a million cases carried undiagnosed annually. Therefore, SHOP Plus is working to utilize technology to provide diagnosis and treatment support services available at the patient's doorstep through an e-pharmacy model. Such initiatives by SHOP Plus will help to increase access to TB services among patients. With the e-pharmacy platform designed by the SHOP Plus project, TB patients can prescribe home sputum testing materials for TB patients, and the test is completed remotely. The e-pharmacy agent will pick up the material and deliver it to the lab facility. After processing the sputum material, the lab will upload the patient's testing report on the e-pharmacy platform. TB patients can view the report, and physicians can prescribe the treatment for the patient. The e-pharmacy platform also features communication technology to follow up with patients' treatment adherence and future orders. Such innovative e-pharmacy models will provide lucrative market opportunities for growth in the forecast period 2020-2030.

Market Trend

Integrated Web-Based Online Pharmacy Interface Emerges as Key Trend
Integrated e-healthcare systems incorporated with web-based pharmacy interfaces that are accessible to pharmacists and patients are likely to emerge as new trends in the digital pharmacy market in the coming years. Programs made available by online pharmacies to provide online support to people buying medicines are a notable example of such interfaces. For instance, patients administered with statins as a part of their treatments are likely to discontinue or show irregularities in taking medicines. Reminders and live chat with a pharmacy team member trained in providing adherence support to people consuming statin-based prescribed medicines can help avoid the discontinuation of doses.

Platform-Based Insights

In terms of platform, the digital pharmacy market is categorized into app-based and website-based. The app-based is further segmented into telehealth pharmacy apps, medication management apps, health and wellness apps, compounding pharmacy apps, and others. The app-based segment held a larger market share in 2022, and the same segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR of 17.60% during the forecast period. Telehealth pharmacy apps are expected to account for a maximum share of the market for the app-based segment during 2022-2030. Virtual healthcare can be accessed through telehealth apps from anywhere. According to CDC data published in 2021, 37.0% of adults used telemedicine in 2020, including provider visits, online prescriptions, and mental health services. The best telehealth apps can be downloaded free of cost and are easy to use, and they often completely cover insurance services. A few examples of telehealth pharmacy apps are Hims & Hers, GoodRx, K Health, and Doctor on Demand. GoodRx offers services such as low-cost visits, easy prescription refills via mail, and visits without health insurance.

Based on drug type, the digital pharmacy market is bifurcated into prescription medicine and over-the-counter medicine. The prescription medicine segment held a larger market share in 2022, and the same segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR of 17.83% during the forecast period. Based on product, the digital pharmacy market is segmented into personal care, vitamins & supplements, medicines & treatments, and other products. The medicine & treatments segment is further segregated as sexual health, neurological disorders, heart care, diabetes, weight loss, and others. The medicine and treatment segment held a larger market share in 2022, and the segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR of 17.87% during the forecast period. In terms of platform, the digital pharmacy market is categorized into app-based and website-based. The app-based is further segmented into telehealth pharmacy apps, medication management apps, health and wellness apps, compounding pharmacy apps, and others. The app-based segment held a larger market share in 2022, and the same segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR of 17.60% during the forecast period. By gender, the market is bifurcated into males and females. The females segment held a larger market share in 2022, and the same segment is anticipated to register a higher CAGR of 17.64% during the forecast period.