The Role Of Ecommerce In Healthcare

The way we have seen a boom of e-commerce in the healthcare sector in the last two years, it is safe to say that e-healthcare has become the hottest online business. According to a recent report by CMS, the total spending on healthcare has reached 3.8 trillion $ with a 4.6 percent increase in the last year. These are the statistics from the US alone. 

Coronavirus has not only caused a rise in healthcare spending - this pandemic highlighted the significance of medical e-commerce in recent times. Tech giants like Google and Amazon have realized the potential of the healthcare e-commerce market even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, Amazon was experimenting in the healthcare e-commerce industry decades ago. The first e-health project of Amazon dates back to the year 1999! There is a reason giants become giants - they are proactive in gaining business opportunities. In this article, you will learn what e-commerce is and how it is revolutionizing medical e-business. You’ll also get a tour of the latest technology trends in e-commerce healthcare.

What is Ecommerce?

E-commerce is the short form of electronic commerce. It is the practice of buying and selling goods and/or services online. Modern e-commerce follows an omnichannel model that focuses on providing a seamless customer experience through all of the sources, whether they are smartphones, laptops, or tablets. Those looking to build an e-commerce website will need an e-commerce site builder.

Need to know more about e-commerce? This article might help you.

Since its inception, e-commerce has evolved immensely over the years. Especially the growth of e-commerce in healthcare is mind-boggling. Let’s have a look:

Healthcare E-commerce

There can be a variety of applications of e-commerce in the healthcare sector. These include online nursing, patient care, healthcare-related retail, electronic healthcare record management, and e-medical services. Healthcare e-commerce is allowing us to create a highly collaborative and effective healthcare sector. 

Top Advantages of  Healthcare E-commerce

Here are some of the key advantages of online healthcare:

Availability and Patient Care

There are numerous advantages of e-commerce for patient care, such as patient support virtual assistants, 24 hours of medical practitioners’ availability, and personalized healthcare. Online healthcare services can also provide virtual nursing and psychological help. Telemedicine can assist patients virtually rather than in hospitals reducing physical encounters. This releases pressure from both doctors and patients. Furthermore, artificial intelligence researchers are using ML algorithms to study patients’ data, assisting doctors to provide personalized care using pattern recognition.

Saving Time and Cost

Online healthcare services can help in connecting healthcare professionals with patients from across the world. This ease to reach and communicate without borders is increasing accessibility and reducing costs for everyone. All parties involved—doctors, patients, and owners of healthcare businesses—win in this scenario.

Healthcare Product E-commerce

Medical product e-commerce is assisting both businesses and customers. E-commerce has provided businesses to sell and market their products to a massive target market. On the other hand, it has also helped in controlling the costs of the products due to increased online competition.

More online vendors mean more stock, which gives the customer a large range of products to compare costs against. There is another reason for cost reduction - managing an e-commerce healthcare store is far cheaper than running a traditional shop. This makes it easy for business owners to reduce costs and stay in the competition.

E-commerce Trends in Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare E-commerce

There are numerous use cases of Artificial Intelligence for e-commerce in healthcare. These include the diagnosis of diseases, patient care, medication allocation, healthcare research, surgery, pandemic spread prediction, virtual assistance, and healthcare product recommendation. 

Need more information on how AI is transforming healthcare? Read this article.

Blockchain’s Role in Medical E-commerce

Yes! You read it right. Blockchain is not limited to fintech and cryptocurrency. It has applications in almost every field of life. The prospects of blockchain technology in healthcare e-commerce are huge. Take the example of electronic health records (EHR), the blockchain-driven EHRs are far more secure and robust than traditional ones, making them more suitable for healthcare businesses. 

Omnichannel Healthcare E-commerce

Omni-channel e- healthcare is a multichannel approach that focuses on providing a smooth customer experience through all of the online sources. Customers might use different devices - such as phones, laptops, tablets, or a physical store. Omni-channel healthcare is a trend that is here to rule the medical e-business.

Virtual Reality in Online Healthcare 

VR has become the favorite trend of the online healthcare business. From SMBs to tech giants, everyone is betting on VR to be the next big thing in healthcare. According to a recent study, the global VR and AR investment in the healthcare market is expected to reach $5.1 Billion By 2025! For example, in the case of telemedicine, doctors can now monitor a patient’s health through remote locations using VR technology.

Wrapping up, it is evident that the role of e-commerce in the healthcare sector cannot be undermined. The future of medical e-commerce is big and bright, and we can see applications of disruptive technology revolutionizing online medical businesses.

Do you have an idea for an online healthcare business and need to know how to make it a reality? Or do you want to revamp your online healthcare business? Check our healthcare services page, and do not hesitate to contact our experts.