“The current ratio of doctor to patients in Kenya is 7,000 [patients] to one [doctor] most of whom are in the urban centres. The figure is almost triple that for practising community pharmacists,” says Dr. Louis Machogu, founder of Drugs.co.ke. Machogu highlights the problem that people face trying to access medical services in Kenya.
With this concern, Kenyans might be skeptical about buying drugs online, but Drugs.co.ke is fully registered and vetted by the pharmacy and poisons board. Most customers still prefer to go physically and purchase the drugs, but this is slowly changing with the site seeing 10 purchases a day and 50 phone orders monthly.
The business also buys their drugs from suppliers as they buy the drugs at a wholesale price. This makes the drugs that are purchased to be affordable.
So what is the outlook for Drugs.co.ke? “As Kenyans embrace IT as a tool of empowerment and access to quality products and services at the comfort and safety of their homes and offices we will be there to meet their needs and grow with each new client,” says Dr. Louis.
Late last year Danish seed investment company 88mph, with an interest in African IT startups, put 37, 000 Euros in to the Kenyan startup to give Kenyans easier access to drugs online. Dr. Louis told HumanIPO that, “Drugs.co.ke comes in to meet the client at the comfort and safety of their home or office with professional health productions and services at the click of a button.”
So how do I get a prescription drug from this site? Simple, you put in an order for the particular drug plus a scanned copy of the prescription. The site has a well maintained database for all types of drugs.
The site also offers other recommended services such as inquiries on medical condition.
The site gives “An opportunity to contact us with any health related and medication use queries and they will receive a peer reviewed response from our panel of 4 pharmacists with experience in pediatric health, reproductive health, chronic care management (Hypertension, Diabetes),” Dr. Louis told HumanIPO.
The need to access medical treatment including drugs, is growing, but with its own risks. Dr. Louis says, “This great demand for professional health consult is posing an even greater risk to Kenyans who have to worry about which provider is qualified or which products are genuine due to infiltration of 'quacks' masquerading as qualified health professionals and counterfeit drugs.”
So how do I get a prescription drug from this site? Simple, you put in an order for the particular drug plus a scanned copy of the prescription. The site has a well maintained database for all types of drugs.
The site also offers other recommended services such as inquiries on medical condition.
The site gives “An opportunity to contact us with any health related and medication use queries and they will receive a peer reviewed response from our panel of 4 pharmacists with experience in pediatric health, reproductive health, chronic care management (Hypertension, Diabetes),” Dr. Louis told HumanIPO.
The need to access medical treatment including drugs, is growing, but with its own risks. Dr. Louis says, “This great demand for professional health consult is posing an even greater risk to Kenyans who have to worry about which provider is qualified or which products are genuine due to infiltration of 'quacks' masquerading as qualified health professionals and counterfeit drugs.”
With this concern, Kenyans might be skeptical about buying drugs online, but Drugs.co.ke is fully registered and vetted by the pharmacy and poisons board. Most customers still prefer to go physically and purchase the drugs, but this is slowly changing with the site seeing 10 purchases a day and 50 phone orders monthly.
The business also buys their drugs from suppliers as they buy the drugs at a wholesale price. This makes the drugs that are purchased to be affordable.
So what is the outlook for Drugs.co.ke? “As Kenyans embrace IT as a tool of empowerment and access to quality products and services at the comfort and safety of their homes and offices we will be there to meet their needs and grow with each new client,” says Dr. Louis.
