The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 264 No 7086 p364
March 4, 2000 Business

One internet portal to offer free PCs . . . another registers pharmacy names

Epharmchem, an internet portal for community pharmacies which is to launch in May, is to offer free personal computers and internet access to pharmacies registering with it. Speaking to The Journal on February 24, Mr Vikas Rai, MRPharmS, the founder of Epharmchem, said that as a proprietor pharmacist he wanted the service to be a "one stop shop" for pharmacists which was as convenient to use as possible. Mr Rai owns two pharmacies in Manchester and Macclesfield. Mr Rai said that his service would be an internet portal for pharmacies. He hoped that it would offer access to around 30 wholesalers, which would initially be offering generics and parallel imports with real-time pricing. Other services on the portal would be locum bookings, buying and selling pharmacies, free announcements for organisations such as the Prescription Pricing Authority and local pharmaceutical committees, insurance and business advice.

Vikas Rai: pharmacists must embrace the internet

In addition, Epharmchem would act as an internet service provider offering access to the internet free of charges, except telephone calls. The company was planning to offer free PCs, including software, to the first 1,000 pharmacies to register for the service. Details of what computer hardware would be available had yet to be finalised.
Mr Rai said that he had been working on the internet portal since February last year. He had received around £800,000 of funding from private investors, of which about £200,000 had been spent on research and development. The company is planning a £10m share flotation on the Alternative Investment Market in June.
He added: "It is important for pharmacists to realise that they will have to embrace new technology if they are not only to survive in the market place but to prosper. Newly qualified pharmacists are already at ease with internet technology."
Mr Rai can be contacted on 07957 421640 (e-mail starville911@aol.com).

Comment, p353

Independent Pharmacy Ltd, an internet portal supported by the owners of Munro Wholesale Medical Supplies Ltd, has preregistered the names of over 7,000 independent pharmacies through its website.
Speaking to The Journal on February 29, Mr John Cochrane (project manager, Independent Pharmacy) explained that the website would offer independent pharmacies free internet access and e-mail. They would also have an opportunity to display further information about their pharmacies and the services which they offered. The company had preregistered pharmacy names so as to make the service as easy as possible for pharmacists to use. If pharmacies wanted to make use of the service then all they had to do was contact the company to activate their account. Details of how to do this, together with security codes and passwords, had been mailed to pharmacies.
The site (www.independentpharmacy.co.uk) goes live on March 7 (see p361).
Mr Cochrane said that the site would have two sections: a consumer advice section, which would also be used to direct visitors to independent pharmacies in their localities, and a business-to-business portal for health care professionals. This part of the site would aim to offer pharmacists all the services they needed in running their businesses, including links to wholesalers and manufacturers.
"We would like to see pharmacists having a wider choice of suppliers with whom they could place orders, including both national and independent regional wholesalers," Mr Cochrane added.