In this fast paced changing world, we have seen virtually every industry being disrupted and there is no sign of this accelerated pace of innovation slowing down; instead it’s the contrary. With Artificial Intelligence being developed and becoming more capable soon it will become a question of if we want and not if we can. We will not even know how problems are solved, just that they are. In fact, that’s already the case but most live in denial of this. Electricity and electromagnetic waves we use but seldom understand. What you think, is. Such is the human mind and such the nature of the world, merely a reflection. In this universe, there is no other law other than evolution, no other thing but change. With change there is, and without there isn’t. The faster the change, the greater the ability to adapt and survive.

So where does pharmacy stand? It doesn’t. It falls, soon, and here’s why:

1. Retail is dying across the globe.

Sears just closed down it’s last stores in Canada earlier this year. They had been in business since 1953 and failed because they did not adapt to the internet age. They had a popular catalogue but failed to take it online. There’s countless other examples; Target left Canada after only a few years, Toy’s R Us went bankrupt. The list only continues to grow. Health product sales are quickly shifting online where customers can read thousands of reviews on products and get them for a fraction of the cost delivered to their doorstep. Pharmacy is far behind and too focused on old retailing techniques.

2. Convenience is King.

Going to the pharmacy is not convenient. Patients are forced to wait 30+ minutes for prescriptions where an easily automated task of counting and sorting pills is performed. People want delivery; they want access to everything in their hand and instant gratification. Pharmacy fails to provide any of that and there seems to be little to no effort to move in this direction. Patients are constantly blamed for not understanding the pharmacist’s role and complexity of filling their prescriptions, checking for interactions etc. All this is a big cover statement to disguise the inefficiencies of the small-scale retail dispensary model and patients know it.

3. The age and culture of Open-source and access to information.

These are the new operating standards of successful business. It’s a cultural shift as much as it is a change in the entrepreneurial landscape. The most successful entrepreneurs of our time are giving everything away for free. Gary Vaynerchuk runs one of the most successful marketing agencies in the world and puts out an atrocious amount of free content. Providing value builds brand and brand outlives all other business metrics. Elon Musk makes all his source content available for free instead of protecting everything behind legal walls using patents. When it comes to healthcare information, we are very far behind meeting the cultural expectations currently shaping the consumer market. People want to have access to their medical reports, medications, and healthcare professionals for advice in a much more convenient way. Pharmacists are currently the most accessible healthcare professionals and something the profession boasts about while advocating for itself. What they should focus on is becoming conveniently accessible. No one wants to walk into the pharmacy or call and wait on hold. They want answers, now, on their time, how they want, where they want.

So what does the future of Pharmacy look like?

Apps like ALGO are riding on the fundamentals of modern day business and could become the Netflix to Blockbuster in the pharmacy world. With ALGO you have full access to your medications and a full online front store with automated drug-interaction checking at your fingertips. There are product reviews and you can talk to a pharmacist via text, speech or video call right from your phone 24/7. Anything you can do in a pharmacy you can do in the ALGO app, quicker, and better. All of this offered for the exact same price as retail pharmacy services. All orders are processed instantly with progress updates available within the app so you know the status of your order at all times. Orders are filled, packaged and shipped same day with most deliveries completed within 2 hours anywhere in the GTA! You can track your orders in real time and redirect if you’re on the move between locations. So what else does ALGO do? Well remember all that talk about evolution? There are new updates and features added every month. ALGO is an ever-changing healthcare app continuously developing and innovating to stay ahead of the curve to be a one-stop app for all your healthcare needs. With ALGO, Healthcare and Technology are married to service the needs of humanity in the modern age. Download ALGO today and find out for yourself!