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India, being a huge country, has always suffered from lack of universal access to quality healthcare. As a result, a huge chunk of healthcare needs end up being unmet.
However, with the increased proliferation of information technology in the healthcare industry, access to healthcare has been positively influenced.
Healthcare is now accessible at our fingertips in the form of online appointments, online consultations, online delivery of medicines, etc.
However, this digital avenue also requires the government to lay down the appropriate legal framework to prevent misuse of technology and exploitation of the end customer/user.
Even though there has been an honest attempt at regulating the online healthcare industry by the authorities, the current regulatory regime is a hit and miss.
The regulatory clarity around the e-healthcare industry does not extend to the e-pharmacy industry, because of which the last mile connectivity of the e-healthcare industry is severely affected.
E-pharmacies have been caught in a regulatory quagmire ever since they first started operating in the country.
The need of the hour is to put in place a comprehensive framework for digital healthcare in India which takes into its fold all its key components. Online delivery of medicines cannot be divorced from online consultations and therefore, a standardised regulatory regime needs to be set up to provide clarity to all the stakeholders in this industry.
The regulatory initiatives relating to online consultations such as the Telemedicine Guidelines, EHR Guidelines, etc. also need to be extended to online pharmacies to instil confidence in major market players.
read the entire article at https://www.mondaq.com/india/healthcare/1063794/digital-healthcare-in-india-a-need-for-standardisation
