In this always-connected world, people are shopping online now more than ever, and they aren’t just buying clothes. It is now possible to purchase powerful medications with just a click of a button… Because of this change, online pharmacies are growing their user-base fast, but with this shift to online ordering, there are also raising new challenges.
This is where the new blockchain project, Mediconnect, is entering the scene. The UK based firm will protect the patient’s online and offline safety by storing all their transactions on an immutable blockchain which can be shared with all involved parties.
The pharmaceutical industry faces several problems with online drug prescriptions. It is possible to order medication at the same time, on multiple different online pharmacies, and receive more than you should, and you even can go to the local doctors office and get more.
If it is this easy to get your hands onto these sedative or narcotic pain medications, it may happen that they are not bought for personal use, but also for selling on the streets. Overuse and addiction are growing fast due to this lack of control. A study reveals 70% of the overdose deaths are caused by prescribed drugs. Also the amount of falsified medicine is growing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the patient to know if the medications they receive are authentic, opening an entirely new area of concern.
UK Meds is one of the largest online pharmacies in the UK, with a patient base of 200.000 people. The health provider has already processed almost half a million online prescriptions. The company works with qualified pharmacists, and orders are approved by GMC registered doctors. Also, UK Meds has already policies in place for potential addictive medication like pain killers and sedative/hypnotic drugs to prevent the patient from unsafe use.
During the fast growth of UK Meds, with sometimes even 20% a day, the amount of abusers who found the way to order online is growing fast.
They promised to buy every few days, but really ordered only when the price was favorable, or the delivery was free. Due to these rising concerns over the overwhelming number of overdoses, pressure from lawmakers mounted,
and many pharmacies were at risk, and thus, a solution was born.
Joe Soiza (CEO of UK Meds), Jason Timms (owner of Tower Health),
and Dexter Blackstock (Mediconnect Director) combined forces and decided to create a system, using secure blockchain technology, to find and stop these abusers.
The blockchain Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) solution will be provided by the UK based LTD Stratis: a Blockchain As A Service (BAAS) platform for enterprise businesses.
The company has a strong developer and consultancy team to back Mediconnect on their mission to create a safe and permanent solution for patients and providers.
When storing all information on the blockchain and sharing it with all online pharmacies in the UK, it will be harder to order the same prescription twice. This to provide more safety to patients. Also the blockchain will keep track of the whole supply chain to prevent counterfeit drugs to enter the market.
More information can be found here:
Mediconnect:
https://mediconnect.io/UK Meds:
https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/Stratis Group:
https://stratisplatform.com/
