Why an e-pharmacy’s branching into health management

Medication is only a very small part of healthcare, especially for those who have chronic diseases like diabetes. Photo credit: sheeler / 123RF.

In May 2016, Noida-based Just Relief launched as an online pharmacy, through which patients could fill their prescriptions and buy other health products at a discount. It also offered at-home medical services, including sending technicians to residences to administer vaccinations and diagnose conditions.

Just Relief became one of many cooks in a bustling kitchen. Medical delivery startups in India include BookMEDS, Pluss, CareOnGo, 1mg, MeraMedicare, and Dawailelo.

See: Why Maverick, Sequoia India injected $15m in e-pharmacy startup

These e-pharmacies are barely distinguishable by focus area. BookMEDS and Pluss both aggregate pharmacies, but Pluss uses its own delivery team to disperse the medicine. MeraMedicare concentrates on offering generic alternatives to expensive name-brand medications. CareOnGo gives smaller pharmacies a leg up under big brands by bringing them under its brand, and Dawailelo focuses on tier-two and tier-three cities. 1mg landed funding and acquisitions throughout last year.

The company is going to launch a health management platform next month.

Bottom line: they will all bring your medicines to your doorstep once you order online.

Just Relief’s response to competition wasn’t to try to find a niche – it was to branch out.

To further tackle chronic illness – and health issues in general – the company is going to launch a health management platform next month. Designed with patients over 40 in mind, it will help subscribers keep track of their health and chronic conditions, if any. It’ll also function as a health manager and will keep reports in graph form, accessible for patients via mobile app or on the web.

While its pharmacy service will continue to function, the health management program will become Just Relief’s main offering, startup founder and CEO Amit Goel said. It will begin its services in Delhi-NCR next month.

Packaged health

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Amit launched Just Relief after seeing his family suffer from chronic illness detected at a late stage.

Amit – who has previously founded Continua Kids, a neurotherapy center for differently-abled children – tells Tech in Asia that he has always been interested in healthcare, which he sees as the “biggest problem in India.” While he kept the interest throughout his school years, a solid idea didn’t “click” for him until 2014. Amit then began developing Just Relief. The company now has a staff of 64 people.

A wide net