For this reason, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency, or depa, which is in the process of promoting and supporting startups with technology expertise. One of the technologies that is supported and like to focus is HealthTech. Recently, depa has funded Digital Startup for raising the level of service for a quality drugstore through "PHARMCARE (PHARM-CARE)", a website platform that will make people access to quality health services.
Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin President/CEO of depa said depa is committed to promoting good health services with digital technology for people. With the proposal and strongly business model of PHARMCARE, we found an opportunity for growing and benefit for people. So, depa supported PHARMCARE under depa Digital Startup Fund (S2). That aim to improve the level of good health service with quality drugstores. People can consult and get an advice directly from real pharmacists as the standard services.
"PHARMCARE is likely consider as a good assistant to recommend us to quality drugstores in a Smart Healthy format. It helps us to find and reach quality drugstores with pharmacist stand by for recommending the right medicine that can check and diagnose primary basic symptoms. In order to get proper service other than that also provided health activities, with user friendly interface. So, this platform more value added to drugstores beyond just only selling drugs, "said Dr. Nuttapon.
Miss Jinnipa Panyawuthikrai, the founder of PHARMCARE, said she was a person who grew up in a drugstore. Her mother is a pharmacist who dedicated to helping the health of people in the community. Therefore, she had the opportunity to see and learn how a pharmacist come to help with primary health care seems to be a good thing. Because in most cases, when people in the community are slightly sick, they always come to buy medicine and ask for her mother advice. Starting from one then spread words of mouth to recommend friends and family. Until increasing the high number of people requesting an advice from her mother.
"It makes we see that everyone wants a trusted person to taking care and give advice about health as a personal medicine doctor. Therefore, I have a discussion with my mother. In which she also introduced a of pharmacist networking who did similar activities, showing that there are a lot of quality drugstores ready to services for people who may not have time to go to get health services at the hospital. After I had the opportunity to study in the UK in Biochemistry and Management after graduated, I've returned to work as a business consultant. I saw the whole system of health industry and see opportunities, therefore developed website platform PHARMCARE to help the public search that embedded nearby quality drugstore with pharmacist cure advice and have good health standard services without having to pay extra money. The reason to create in the website platform are based on a survey found out that most people are not used to loading Applications or sometimes their phone memory are full which make them cannot downloaded the website is match solution," said Miss Jinnipa.
Miss Jinnipa said that the PHARMCARE website also provide pharmaceutical care that every staff has been trained in terms of questioning, observation and service provision for 10 basic diseases which are diseases that most people will go to buy medicines on their own but facing unqualify advice. Recommendations based on a survey of the number of people who enter the drugstore per year approximately 310 million times nationwide. The average person who walks into the drugstore 6-7 times a year which may up to over a hundred million times that they may not receive quality counsel at all.
For the technology in PHARMCARE platform, Miss Jinnipa said that the method of using is not difficult. Just open the website https://pharmcare.co. It will position the drugstore near the area where we are located which is showing in kilometers distance. And when you click to see the shop name which including the name of the pharmacist and ready to give advice, the service will be extra not only just selling drugs.
"Right now, PHARMCARE been launching for 5 months and has been very well acknowledged even without full marketing plan. But when we received the fund by the depa, we will be used to expand the platform development and do marketing to increase brand awareness throughout the country to expand data base for access health services of quality drugstores. Also recruit more quality drugstore join our network. Which currently has about 70 drug stores in Bangkok. We aim to expand to nearby provinces and throughout the country in the future, "said Miss Jinnipa
Miss Jinnipa added that "PHARMCARE is not only helping to find quality drugstores near your home, it also helps to adjust the behavior of people using the service from a previously uncomfortable condition by buying medicine on their own. Previously, from the old habit, from the advice of friends or buy from what they see in the advertisement. Turning into receiving counseling from a pharmacist first just like having a personal medicine doctor who takes care of their personal health. And when every citizen wants to go to a quality drugstore with good pharmacists stand by. It will stimulate general stores to be alert and ready to improve service. Lastly people will also get better health services as follow eventually.