Flipkart launches health app to supply affordable medicines in remote places

Bengaluru: E-commerce platform Flipkart on Wednesday announced the launch of an app that will enable access to affordable medicines and healthcare products and services for customers across over 20,000 pin codes in India.

The app Flipkart Health+ aims to partner and strengthen the healthcare ecosystem by solving the critical gap of accessibility to genuine medicines and healthcare products in remote locations to address unmet healthcare needs. It will also contribute to 'Swasth Bharat', the company said.

"Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Indians have witnessed a tremendous shift in favouring wellness and preventative healthcare and there is an increased focus on health and wellness, like never before," said Prashant Jhaveri, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Health+, in a statement.

"We want to leverage technology in a way that strengthens the healthcare ecosystem and enables it to serve customers better by making accessibility to healthcare simpler even for those residing in distant areas of the country and contributing towards a healthier India," he added.

In November, last year, Flipkart forayed into the healthcare sector through the launch of Flipkart Health+.

As part of this, the Flipkart Group signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority share in Sastasundar Marketplace, which owns and operates SastaSundar.com, an online pharmacy and digital healthcare platform.

The new app would benefit from the expertise and experience of the Flipkart Group's reach and last-mile supply chain capabilities, coupled with Sastasundar.com's robust healthcare network across the country, the company said.

Flipkart Health+ app has been designed and developed with a user-friendly interface that will appeal to customers, irrespective of their technological adeptness.

To begin with, the Flipkart Health+ platform will have around more than 500 independent sellers who have a network of registered pharmacists for validation of medical prescriptions and accurate dispensation of medicines.

Even though it is an intermediary marketplace platform, the company said it has put in place various quality checks and verification protocols, which will facilitate delivery of genuine medicines and healthcare products from independent sellers to the customer's doorstep.

In the coming months, Flipkart Health+ also plans to onboard third-party healthcare service providers who will offer other value-added healthcare services like teleconsultation and e-diagnostics to the customers.

The app is initially available on the Android Play Store and will be made available on iOS in future. It can be accessed on low bandwidth as well, making it accessible to customers across the country, the company said.