What is an online pharmacy for a pharmacy?
An online pharmacy for a pharmacy is that pharmacy's own storefront and catalogue on the internet — a website and an app in its own name, connected to its real stock. The patient finds a product there, reserves it, orders it, uploads a prescription or chooses a delivery; the pharmacy prepares and serves from its own counter. It is not a "virtual" pharmacy that would sell in the pharmacy's place: it is the real pharmacy, with its pharmacist, that remains the only one to dispense.
1. Definition
An online pharmacy for a pharmacy, at Nexum, is called Nexum Pharma: a platform — app and website — specific to each pharmacy, with its own name, its opening hours, its catalogue and its prices. The catalogue comes from the pharmacy's real stock, through a stock connection that reads and writes into the management software already used at the counter: what the pharmacy has on the shelf is what the patient sees online.
The patient finds a product there, checks its availability, reserves it, orders it, uploads a prescription as a photo or a file, chooses how to receive it — delivery, collection at the counter, setting aside — and tracks their order. None of this replaces the counter: the order comes from the pharmacy, prepared by its team, served from its stock, and payment goes directly into the pharmacy's account.
2. What it isn't
An online pharmacy is not a "virtual" pharmacy that would sell medicines in the pharmacy's place, nor a generic e-commerce shop where a product is paid for without the pharmacist's oversight. It is the real pharmacy that remains the only one to dispense: a prescription medicine uploaded online is checked and approved by the pharmacist before anything is sent, and no prescription medicine is sold on a channel that would bypass this approval.
- It is not a new pharmacy: it is the existing pharmacy, with its own licence number and its own team
- It is not unchecked free sale: every uploaded prescription is reviewed at the counter
- It is not a substitute for the team: it is one more channel, never in its place
3. How it works, channel by channel
- 1.The catalogue comes from the real stockThe stock connection reads and writes into the pharmacy's management software, in real time; what's on the shelf is what shows online, with the full pharmaceutical price.
- 2.The patient finds, reserves or ordersProduct search, availability checked against real stock, product reserved, set aside and paid for on collection, or ordered online.
- 3.The prescription is uploaded then approvedPhoto, gallery or file, in an encrypted space: the order is only sent once the prescription has been checked and approved by the pharmacist.
- 4.The pharmacy chooses the receiving methodCollection at the counter, setting aside, or courier delivery: four ways to receive the same order, prepared just once by the team.
- 5.One optional extra channelA pharmacy can also be present on Uber Eats, for over-the-counter products and OTC only: never a prescription medicine on this channel.
4. What it changes for the team
The team gains one more channel, not one more burden: the catalogue updates itself from the management software, with no double entry, and a promotion entered once spreads across every platform where the pharmacy is present.
What happens at the counter changes in nature: fewer calls asking "do you have this product?" or "is my order ready?", and more orders already prepared, prescriptions already read, availability already checked before the patient even travels there.
5. What the pharmacy keeps
- Its management software: the stock connection adds to it, it doesn't replace it
- The decision to dispense: nothing is sent without the pharmacist's approval
- Its prices and its margin: the pharmacy sells at its own prices, payment goes into its own account
- Control of the catalogue: what the pharmacy removes from its software disappears from the platform
6. A channel of one's own, and one more channel
Nexum Pharma is the pharmacy's own priority channel: its own storefront, its own catalogue, with no other merchant alongside and no subscription — a commission is deducted from what sells, nothing else. Uber Eats comes as a complement, if the pharmacy wants it, to reach patients who don't know it yet, for over-the-counter products and OTC only.
7. How much it costs
Nexum Pharma charges nothing to go online: no subscription, no entry fee, no invoice as long as nothing sells. A commission is deducted from sales made, and only on that; its rate is set out in the contract, not on a web page. The phone switchboard and Nexum Pro have their own pricing, on their own pages.
8. Frequently asked questions
Can an online pharmacy sell prescription medicines?
Yes, but never without the pharmacist: the prescription is uploaded as a photo or a file, then reviewed and approved at the counter before anything is sent. On the Uber Eats channel, however, no prescription medicine is offered.
Does it replace a pharmacy's website or app?
Nexum Pharma gives each pharmacy its own storefront — app and website — in its own name, with its catalogue and opening hours. It is the pharmacy's own website and app, not a separate site.
Who decides what's online, and at what price?
The pharmacist, always. The catalogue comes from the pharmacy's real stock, through the stock connection: prices, promotions and availability follow what's already in the management software, with no double entry. What the pharmacy removes from its software disappears from the platform.
What happens to an order once it's placed?
It is prepared by the pharmacy's team, from its own stock, then received by the patient according to the chosen method: collection at the counter, setting aside or courier delivery. Payment goes directly into the pharmacy's account.
Do you need to change management software to go online?
No. The stock connection reads and writes into the management software already used at the counter; it adds to what's there, it doesn't replace it. The pharmacy keeps its software and its organisation.
How much does an online pharmacy cost for a pharmacy?
Nothing to go online: no subscription, no entry fee, no invoice as long as nothing sells. A commission is deducted from sales made, and only on that; its rate is set out in the contract.
To see what an online pharmacy would change for the pharmacy, using its own catalogue: a demonstration led by a pharmacist from the team.