Home-grown first-of-its-kind mobile application PharmaGo facilitates same-day and next-day deliveries of essential medications and over-the-counter medication to those in need, at the click of a button.
PharmaGo – a free app now live on Google Play for Android and the iOS App Store – facilitates the delivery of prescription and over-the-counter medication in as little as an hour, depending on the distance between the nearest participating network pharmacy and the customer. PharmaGo passes on uploads of customers’ prescriptions via the app, directly to a Pharmacy Panel, which is accessible only to the pharmacist fulfilling the prescription. This process ensures both information security and discretion. This direct-to-pharmacy prescription upload process is exclusive to PharmaGo and payments for the products are processed via credit or debit card, and direct medical aid submission.
Established as an aggregator rather than medical supplier, PharmaGo’s initial partnership harnesses a nationwide 73-strong extensive network of pharmacies, with exclusive fee-free deliveries available within a radius of 20-50km, depending on the location. A nationwide facility enables deliveries to sites outside of the network’s reach, with those deliveries available in around a day. Delivery drivers are deployed to pharmacies by PharmaGo, so each delivery is facilitated by a dedicated service. The PharmaGo app has been created to be as interactive and as user-friendly as possible.
The seed for the PharmaGo app was planted in the mind of WITS graduate Raees Carim when an immune-compromised relative was unable to access essential medicine after traditional pharmacy closing hours. “We’ve already seen the power – and necessity – of PharmaGo in our initial launch phase,” says Carim. “We’ve received urgent orders and have been able to facilitate delivery within the same day. It’s gratifying to be able to help people access medication when they need it, in a convenient and secure way – while also being able to deliver daily essentials to customers without them needing to leave the house”.
Carim is looking to expand the network of supplying pharmacies in order to better serve more of the country. “We’re looking to expand into deliveries of products beyond the pharmaceutical space, and so are going to be expanding into the health, wellness and beauty space,” he says.
