First e-pharmacy registered under HSA launched

Pharmaceutical company Hyphens Pharma yesterday officially launched the first e-pharmacy in Singapore to be registered under the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

The e-pharmacy, WellAway, acts as a digital platform on https://www.wellaway.com.sg where registered doctors can give e-prescriptions to patients and have the prescribed medicine delivered to patients' homes within three hours.

Managed by Hyphens Pharma's new digital ventures division DocMed, the platform's service caters to doctors, who will be charged a nominal fee for its usage.

More than 140 clinics signed up during the beta phase of the e-pharmacy, with about 20 prescriptions delivered each day.

The beta phase of WellAway started in June last year after HSA awarded the licence in January that year.

By the end of this year, Hyphens Pharma expects 1,000 active clinics to be on board, with about 40 prescriptions delivered daily.

Aimed at the private medical sector, the new e-pharmacy will service doctors in private hospitals and clinics, general practitioners as well as telehealth providers.

WellAway follows stringent HSA guidelines that include the safe supply and delivery of medication and the protection of patient data.

Temperature-sensitive medication will also be delivered in temperature-controlled boxes.

According to the HSA website, other requirements that e-pharmacies have to comply with to be registered include ensuring that e-prescriptions are sent directly from the clinics to the e-pharmacy to prevent them from being changed or reused, are traceable to the prescribing doctors and with cyber security in place.

Another HSA requirement states that such pharmacies need a qualified pharmacist to take charge of pharmacy operations, including proper storage and supply of the registered therapeutic products.

The medicine delivery service is aimed mainly at patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure as they need to stock up on their medicine regularly, said DocMed chief executive designate Timothy Chen.

The service is especially useful for patients who are elderly, immobile, self-isolating or just prefer to reduce their contact time outdoors especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Hyphens Pharma in a statement on Monday.

When doctors do not stock in their pharmacies the drugs their patients require, they have to give prescriptions to the patients to obtain the medicine from retail pharmacies. With WellAway, doctors can still sell medicine to their patients without keeping as many drugs in stock," said Mr Chen.

He added that DocMed will be looking to offer more digital services, platforms and analytical tools for both clinics and doctors "to better empower them to serve their patients more effectively".

"Our e-pharmacy is an empowerment by technology to provide patients with greater convenience, safety and efficiency in obtaining their medicine - we hope that it can create a paradigm shift in fulfilling medicine prescriptions," Mr Chen said.

In March last year, it was reported that the Ministry of Health planned to set up a national pharmacy to consolidate medication delivery across public healthcare institutions from this year.