How to Build a Medicine Delivery Service App
Medicine delivery service is one of the most popular and promising areas for business development in 2022. According to Statista, the mobile medical apps market will grow to over 11 billion dollars by 2025. Therefore, if you are in the pharmacy business, it’s time for you to launch a mobile application to promote your company among iOS and Android users.
Keep reading to learn how to build a pharmacy delivery app and define the essential aspects of medical application development.
How Does a Medicine Delivery Service App Work?
The development of medicine delivery service apps has changed the pharmacy industry once and forever. Until now, there hasn’t been any way to buy medication except for visiting a regular pharmacy. However, today, thanks to med delivery applications, patients can order all of their necessary prescription medicine right to their door.
Medicine delivery apps contain a list of medications that are divided into different categories so that users can easily find whatever they need. Then, a customer can add medicines to their cart and include a prescription if necessary. After proceeding and paying for the purchase, the buyer receives delivery updates to track their order.
Thus, a medicine delivery service app helps pharmacies earn money without being confined to only the office. If you want to digitize your business and significantly raise the income of your company, you’ll need to know how to start a medical courier service online.
Top 5 Medicine Delivery Service App
Check out the five most popular prescription pickup and delivery service applications and define their features and functionality to make your own successful mobile app.
Capsule
Capsule is a med delivery app that offers instant free medication delivery throughout New York. The mobile application has become extremely popular during COVID-19, and today, it is an absolute leader among users who don’t want to be exposed to the Coronavirus.
Capsule has all the necessary features to assist patients with their medication needs. The app provides a user-friendly interface, 24-hour support with a pharmacist, and the tracking of orders. Besides, the app will coordinate with your doctor and insurance.
NowRx
NowRx is one of the leading US medicine delivery service apps. The application uses the latest technologies for delivering orders the same day and decreasing the company expenses.
Along with pharmacy delivery services, NowRx suggests such options as video chat with a pharmacist and prescription refills. The app also provides patients’ prescription statuses and their insurance data for pharmacies.
CVS
CVS is a popular US pharmacy chain, which serves over 9,600 areas across the country. In 2019, the company launched the self-titled prescription delivery app, which provides the quick and reliable delivery of drugs, first-aid kits, pain relief, vitamins, etc.
The app has an intuitive and user-friendly interface with easy access to shopping and management features. CVS allows patients not only to order medication but also to refill their prescriptions, check information about drug interactions, and more.
NetMeds
NetMeds is an India-based online medicine delivery application with 100 years of experience in the pharmacy business. The app has a complete set of features necessary for easy sign-up, hassle-free payments, simple navigation, consulting with a doctor, and tracking order status.
Netmeds offers an extensive selection of products, except for medication. For example, it provides fitness-related products, ayurvedic, and homeopathy meds that can be purchased without a prescription.
PillPack
PillPack is an online medicine delivery service operated by Amazon. This mobile application offers free, day-to-day medication delivery across the US right to the user’s doorstep.
Along with medicine order and delivery features, PillPack suggests some extra options like sorting drugs by time and dosage prescribed and providing the customers’ family members with access to their profile.
Business Logic
To build a successful online medical courier business, you need to come up with an efficient strategy for managing the business flow. But first, get familiar with two possible business models for running your business to define which one is the most appropriate for your company:
- First Business Model. This option is a fit for big pharmacies with large volumes of medications that aim to expand to the online market. If your company has a broad range of drugs and a high brand recognition, this model will help you to scale your business effectively.
- Second Business Model. This option matches companies that mediate between medicine suppliers and customers. By running a medicine delivery service using this business model, you don’t have to store the medications. Still, as a pharmaceutical delivery service, you have much responsibility for the safety of the delivered orders.
Features for a Medicine Delivery Service App
Considering your medicine delivery service app is going to be used by different parties, you will need to include the features relevant to its purpose. Check out the functionality sets required for users, pharmacies, couriers, and admins to define which options are necessary for your application.
For Users
- Basic registration
- Detailed medication catalog with description
- Payment methods
- Delivery options
- Up-to-date stock information
- Prescription management
- Access to customers reviews
- Nearby pharmacies location map
For Pharmacies
- Flexible order management
- Stock tracking
- Payment details in real-time
- Order history
For Couriers
- Courier profile
- Tracking system
- Delivery status updates
- Push messages
For Admins
- managing clients and suppliers
- marketing tools
- inventory management
- advanced business reports and analytics
Tech Stack for a Medicine Delivery Service App Development
To ensure a smooth app development process, you should choose a popular and innovative tech stack that will help your application remain stable in the future:
Mobile App Development: you can choose between native and cross-platform app development.
- Native Development: Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android + NodeJS for backend development
- Cross-platform App Development: Flutter + NodeJS for backend development
Admin Panel Development:
- Front-End development (ReactJS or Flutter)
- Back-End development (NodeJS)
- API development (NodeJS)
Third-Party Services:
- Stripe or PayPal for payment integration
- Cloud storage capability
- Google or OpenStreetMaps
- Delivery API (FedEx, UPS, USPS)
- Twilio or Firebase messages
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Medicine Delivery Service App
The app development cost varies depending on its functionality and complexity. In general, it will take you about $90-100K to develop an app meeting all the requirements mentioned in this article. As for the time necessary for building a reliable online medicine delivery service, it is most likely a question of 7-8 months.
Conclusion
The medicine delivery app is an excellent solution for companies to go online and get new business opportunities. With the right business model, relevant features, and a popular tech stack, you will successfully develop your app without spending much time and effort.
FAQs
How Does A Pharmacy Delivery App Work?
A pharmacy app allows patients to order medicines online using prescriptions and arrange their delivery straight to the client’s door.
How Do Medicine Delivery Apps Make Money?
Medicine Delivery Apps cooperate with pharmacies and delivery service companies, which transmit a percentage of the monies recovered from patients’ orders.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Pharmacy Delivery App?
Overall, the cost of pharmacy delivery app development may range from $90,000 to $150,000, depending on the complexity of your mobile application.