Online pharmacies will address shortage of drugs supply in Nigeria – Pharmacist

Mr Adeyemi Olutoye, Founder of an online pharmaceutical shop, Drugstore.ng, says establishment of online pharmacies will address the shortage of drugs supply in Nigeria.

Olutoye, decrying the shortage of drugs supply, told our correspodnent on Thursday in Lagos that not every pharmacy could stock all the drugs required for the market.

According to him, we come with the idea of pharmacies online with different stock items to address the shortage of drugs supply in pharmacies.

“The biggest challenge is the supply of drugs, followed by the distribution of drugs.

“We get more demands for drugs than we can supply, not because we don’t have enough pharmacy partners, but because every pharmacy can’t stock all the drugs in Nigeria.

“These are over 30,000 in number, and most of the pharmacies stock similar items between 5,000 and 10,000, less than half of registered drugs in Nigeria.

“Also, most community pharmacies cannot afford to stock some brand or category of drugs because they are trying to avoid losses or they are afraid no one will demand for them.

“So, there is always a case of unavailability every time you walk into a pharmacy in Nigeria.

“This is the problem we are faced with, which we are trying to solve by bringing various pharmacies online with different stock items. It’s not been easy, but we have been making progress,’’ he said.

Olutoye told NAN that every range of products is available to be bought on the http://www.drugstore.ng., saying, “everything you can find in a pharmacy can be found at Drugstore Nigeria.’’

He said that all they do was to connect pharmacies with the patients.

According to him, patronage is on the increase including search and order volume.

On some of the benefits of the online purchase, he said it had continues to save the buyers the stress of looking for medication from one pharmacy to another.

“It is convenient for them to place an order for their medications and medical equipment and get it delivered to their doorstep.

“Everyone deserves this executive treatment, especially when it comes to their health.

“We offer this service in every state in Nigeria and even to some countries outside the country,’’ Olutoye said.

He, however, advised consumers to confirm the name of a pharmacy and physical address before making purchases.