Few Effective Ways to Start A Pharmacy Business In India

Pharmacy is one of those businesses which has a very minimal chance to face any crisis. Therefore, people are moving towards starting up pharmacy business in India considering the lowest risk factor. But launching a pharmacy business is not that an easy task. If you are seriously thinking of starting of your own pharmacy business then you can get two options: either you can take over an existing pharmacy or franchise or you can start from the scratch. The pharmacy services are available in both online as well as offline. But this business these days is no more limited to only selling and buying medicines. Rather expert customer services, home delivery and free consultations are also available at modern pharmacies. If you are not an experienced businessman or if you do not have any experience in pharmacy business then you can also try these following steps which can guide you thoroughly in starting up:

The easiest thing for a newcomer to start the retail business by taking a franchise of any renowned and existing pharmacy. It can help you to get the entire setup done starting from funding to location hunt without much effort along with all the modern facilities offered by the mother company. They can even help you in hiring licensed employees and pharmacists to assist you in business and in making contacts with the reputed drug dealers of that particular area. Apart from that you can also get the benefits of being a part of a reputed pharmacy brand. Sometimes it becomes difficult to make your place in the business. But taking a franchise of a reputed brand can make your business popular right from the beginning thanks to the goodwill of the main company.

If you love to take up challenges then it can be a great option for you to start the pharmacy business from the scratch. Though it is a bit difficult and needs lots of time and effort but it is not impossible either. In this process you need to do everything starting from the location hunting to building rapport with the drug dealers, doctors all by yourself. The most difficult part of this business is to get license from local health centre, Food and Drug Department, Drug Enforcement Administration department. Additionally, you may need to hire licensed pharmacists if you do not act as a principal pharmacist in your pharmacy.

It can always be a convenient option to start pharmacy business with other like-minded persons on a partnership basis. This idea can be helpful especially if you are working on a tight budget. If this is on your card then you should always go for the partners who has sound idea on funding, working as pharmacists. This combined talents and efforts can make your business successful within no time.

These are the few popular ways to start a pharmacy business. Any of these idea can help you to make your business successful. If any of these does not work for you then you can also go for another option i.e. buying a successfully running pharmacy. Buying a pharmacy running for a long time and is popular among the customers and the drug dealers can be extremely beneficial for you.

Online pharmacy India has become a popular trend now a day. Therefore you can also try your hand in this if you are expert enough and have a sound knowledge in both pharmaceutical as well as technical knowledge.

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Tips To Buy Medicines Online And Avail Discounts

Buying medicines online have become a very popular trend in India. People these days have become too busy to visit pharmacies to buy medicines. Not only medicines the scenario is same for everything starting from books to clothes. All these are easily available online these days and we take full advantage of the advancement of technology to reduce our tasks. Though online shopping is a kind of luxury to us, but there are many who are completely unable to buy medicine from the local pharmacies on their own. They do not have any other option than buying medicines online. Apart from that there are few reasons like home delivery, extra discounts which attract the customers most. But before you start shopping for medicines online you should keep the following things in mind.

Discounted price: Most of all online pharmacies offer huge discounts on different brands. The average discount price can vary from 15% - 25%. There are many sites where you can also do some bargains as well. But always remember do not trust those which offer too much discounts like flat 50% or more than that. Because there are certain loose which all the legal pharmacies have to follow and that set the limitation of the discount percentage which they should not cross.

Compare sites: Before placing your order in a particular site it is suggested that you should check various other sites to check the availability and the prices of the medicines. There are many sites which offer more discounts than the other. You can go for them but only after checking their authorization and other reliability factors.

Other services: Apart from discounts you should also check for the other services they offer such as shipping charges, home delivery, exchange or return facility or free consultations. These are some of the most attractive features of the online pharmacies which drag the customers towards them. Check out whether they offer free home delivery within the stipulated time. It would be great if you buy medicines online from a pharmacy that is located near to your house. Otherwise they may add shipping charges. Sometimes many online pharmacy offer fee consultations to the patients if they are not sure about the medicines that will work for them. But if you are buying prescribed medicine for any particular health issue then it would be better if you stick to what is mentioned. Even if you go for a replacement, you should check it with your doctor.

Physical presence: try to go for online medicine shop that has a physical presence in your locality or country. It would also confirm the reliability factor of the online store. It can also get you big discounts also. It the offline store offers bigger discounts then you can also negotiate sometimes with the online store.

Online pharmacies have become a good option to buy medicines online. It spares us from standing in the long queue, offers great discounts, and above all it delivers all the medicines at our doorsteps. We have discussed a few effective tips which can help us in saving money while at the same time opting for the reliable websites. Finally, it is always advised that we should never compromise with the quality of the medicines to save a few bucks as it can put our health at risk.

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Preventing Chronic Diseases From Vitamin And Mineral Supplements

We do not depend solely depend on the natural diets to keep ourselves feet and healthy these days. Apart from the natural foods we also take various vitamin and mineral supplements which we think may keep ourselves healthy and prevent us from any chronic diseases. We often use various supplements without knowing what they actually do to our health or whether these are at all required. But we should definitely know whether these supplements claiming to be contained with sufficient vitamins and nutrition really help to prevent chronic diseases or not before consuming them blindly. It is time to dig deeper and take out what lies within.

We can find many doctors saying that the Vitamins and minerals and other nutrient supplements are of no use in building our health or prevent any diseases. Rather most of them opine that we can consume enough vitamins and minerals from our daily diets. Though it is not that these supplements are complete waste of money, but if necessary they can work as additional supplements in case we fall short of our required nutrition. These types of supplements come in various forms and that includes capsules, syrups or in powdered forms. But the most common form is probably the capsules which are known as multivitamin tablets. There are no proof that these capsules or the other multivitamin nutrients actually do good to human health rather various studies since the past two years shows that these are more harmful instead.

How many of you have heard that a certain study has opines in favour of consuming additional supplements to keep yourself healthy and fit? Probably none of you. But if I ask you that how many of you have heard that these supplements are not at all good for health then I suppose most of you will raise your hands. Unfortunately, it is true to some extent. In fact, many studies all over the world involving the effects of nutrient supplements have shown that these can be dangerous for your health. A recent study has shown that intake of these supplements put our health at risk increasing the chances of stroke, cancers and others diseases.  On the other hand another study on a group of Chinese and French people showed that consuming of these nutrients have prevented cancers in both French and Chinese men but not in the women.

But there are a few supplements which can work as good substitutes. One can consume Vitamin A, C, D, E supplements, Fish oil supplements, Enzyme C0Q-10 or Selenium if necessary. Though the medical experts have taken neutral position on vitamin and mineral supplements the companies that manufacture theses multivitamins worldwide are not quite satisfied with all these negative hypes as it has to some extent effected their business. These companies have invested around $25 billion in these products. But none of them have mentioned the potential side effects of these items on their product descriptions. It would probably be good if these companies also come under the same rule as the other pharmaceutical medicines where the detailed of the products as well as the probable side effects are mentioned clearly.

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Tips To Choose The Best Online Chemist Shop

Our love for online shopping is growing considerably with the time. It started with books and clothes but people these days are not hesitating to even buy medicines online. But it is not always that they do not have time to visit pharmacies, sometimes it can also happen that people staying alone and suffering from severe health issues do not have the capability to visit medicine shop and buy medicines physically all by themselves. These people mostly depend on the online chemists India which take order online and deliver the medicines at their doorsteps. But sometimes many people faces various problems which sometimes put their health at risk. The problem becomes serious if it is with prescribed drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a check of a few mandatory things before placing order to a particular online pharmacy portal in India.

Authorization:  before choosing an online pharmacy one should check whether that particular shop is authorized to deliver medicines or not. You should check the website of the shop thoroughly to know how long they are into this business and their awards and accolades and certification. It would be great if the online store also has offline stores. Else you can also check out with the others who buy medicines from the same portal to know about their service and reliability.

Presence: Pharmacy stores come under emergency services which should be available for the customers 24x7. While choosing an online chemist India you should always check whether their service is available 24x7. Apart from that you should also be aware of their location. It would be good if they located near to where you reside. Otherwise, shipping of the medicines may take longer time and more shipping cost and it can be a problem fin case of some emergency medicines.

Service quality: As you do while visiting local grocery store, you should also do the same while choosing an online chemist India for delivering your medicines.  If you are still not sure what I am talking about then I must tell you that you should first check the quality of the services the particular online store chosen by you actually offers. First you should know whether they offer exchange facilities or refund policy. Check out the service quality of the customer acre desk and whether they are capable enough to satisfy your queries or whether the delivery boys are trustworthy.

Large Setup: Always go for the online shop that has a big set up. In most cases the small inventories face shortage or limitations of emergency drugs.

Consultation: Always go for the site which has a large set up and also provides free consultation from the expert physicians. Sometimes you may not find some medicines that you are looking for. It mostly happens in case of some emergency medicines which are not always available. In that case you can also seek for some assistance from the helpline of that online porta so that they can suggest some substitutes till they find the actual ones.

These are the few essential thing that should always be on your check list before placing your medicine orders. Lastly always keep in mind that do not ever disclose your personal information including your bank account or credit card passwords while registering or placing orders even if they want. It can lead to the identity theft in future.

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Get Complete Information On Medicine

Of late, you might have found that different people suffer from different types of diseases. Fever, cough and cold have become a regular thing though there are other serious diseases as well. Thus, medicines have become an important part of our lives. Though doctors who prescribe the medicines normally let you know the utility of the medicines, it is essential to know that medicine information on your own as well in order to be on the safer side. Many people might develop side effects due to medicines that even the doctors might have not thought of. When you try to buy medicines from the local medicine shop, they might not be able to help you know about the utility, contents as well as side effects of the medicine. Thus, you might be at a loss and at a danger of facing side effects!

Buying medicines have now grown easier with the coming up of online medical websites. These websites will help you in getting ample medicine information. Most importantly, you can sit at home and order your medicines from the comfort of your home. Apart from this, you can get additional discounts while purchasing the medicines online. This will help you save your hard earned money. All you need to do is to attach a scanned copy of your prescription and the details of your doctor while placing the order for medicines. 

Sastasundar is one of the popular websites helping people to buy medicines as well as various Over The Counter (OTC) products. Placing medicine orders are very easy here. To place orders for your medicine, you should click on the "Order Medicine" section. Search for the medicines and add to the cart. The price and the discount will be showed to you. While the bill or the invoice is generated, you will find a separate "eye" like symbol where you can get all the medicine information in detail. When you click on medicine information, you will come to know of its generic name as well as get an overall details of the medicine. You will also get to know about the right purpose of the medicine. For example, whether it is to be consumed for hypertension, stomach ache, headache or depression, etc. You will also be able to know about the right dosage of the medicine to be consumed. However, it is not mandatory for you to consume that dosage. You should follow what your doctor has prescribed you.

The next important medicine information that you will get here includes the warnings. You can get an idea of what can happen once you start using the medicine. However, one should remember that it is not mandatory for you to get these symptoms or problems. However, when the medicine does not suit certain people, they might face the problems mentioned in the medicine information. You will also get to know about the precautions that one needs to take while he or she decides to stop the medicine consumption. You will also be able to know how the specific drug or its ingredients interacts with other medicines or with your body. Thus, you can know what you can expect from the medicine. Apart from this, you will also be able to know about contraindications of the medicines. Thus, it can be well assumed that you will get ample medicine information at Sastasundar. This will update your knowledge and you will not be lost.

So, if you are looking forward to buy some medicines, you can take a look at them at Sastasundar! Get ample discounts and also get the required medicine information.

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Some Harmful Chemicals Used In Children's Personal Care Products

Personal care products have become an inseparable part of our daily lives. Even the little children are not alienated to these products as they have sufficient exposure to a number of child care products starting from baby lotions to baby shampoos since birth.  Though the parents these days are very careful while choosing products for their little darlings and always consult with the doctors before buying anything, still sometimes they face various issues caused by the ingredients found in the products. It is not always possible for people like us to know everything about the ingredients used in the baby products and their effects on the health of the babies. But sometimes it is not always to consult doctors but at least we should have some basic knowledge about the products so that while buying we can be careful. Check out the following chemicals which are strict no no for your baby:

Mineral Oil: Mineral oil can be harmful for babies. It is a by-product of Petroleum and it covers the skin with a kind of wrap which stops the skin from excreting, absorbing and breathing. It also prevent the process of natural development of the skin cells resulting the skin ageing at a very early stage. You may be surprised to know that the baby oils contain 100% mineral oil and therefore they are 100% harmful for the babies.

Talc: Presence of talc in any personal care products for both babies and adults can be harmful as it can cause testicular or ovarian cancer. It is mostly found in baby powder and baby soaps.

Fragrance: Presence of fragrance in a baby product can be extremely harmful for the kids. Fragrance is one of the most important ingredients available in the personal care products for both kids and adults. But very few of us know that fragrance is toxic, synthetic and can lead to cancer. Frequent exposure to this ingredient can have severe effects on our central nervous system. But unfortunately it is present probably in all types of baby care products like baby shampoos, baby soaps, baby oils etc. and most of all buyers prefer to have it in whatever products they use.

Sodium borate or Boric acid: If we check a few reports we can easily find how harmful boric acid is for the children. People who work in the boric acid producing plants are exposed to heavier risk of decreased libido and sperm count. Many countries have imposed ban on this chemical and many companies have stopped using this in their personal care products. Though it can cause severe skin damage for the babies who have extremely sensitive skin, many companies use this item in their diaper creams.

Phthalates: Sometimes a few chemicals absorbed by pregnant moms can be harmful for their unborn kids. Phthalates is one of those chemicals which can be found in nail polishes. Therefore, nail polishes should be strictly prohibited for the expecting mothers for the sake of their children.

These are some of the common chemicals which are available in all types of personal care products for both babies and adults. Apart from these there are many others including toluene, resorcinol, BHA, animal-based ingredients and others which can be extremely harmful for the babies.

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Probable Dangers Of Buying Medicines Online

Buying medicines online has becomes quite a popular trend this days in India. Today most people do not want to waste their precious time and energy in standing in the queue. Rather, they prefer buying everything from clothes to medicines online. Apart from these tech savvy people, there are many who are either aged or suffering from illness and do not have the option to buy medicines online on their own. They have no option than buying their prescribed medicines online and receive them at their doorstep. But as we all know that online shopping sometimes can arise various problem it is also same for shopping medicines online. Sometimes buying medicines from few websites can put your health at risk instead of curing. Therefore, before buying medicines we should check out a few things as follows:

Be aware of the fake websites: Always go for the renowned website that sell medicine either worldwide or countrywide. Even if you go for the local online medicine portal, make sure that it is authorized and legal. Here are a number of websites you can find while searching online that do not have authorization and sometimes sell fake drugs, which can be dangerous for your health, without any prescription. Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tested many sample drugs sold by different website and they have found that most of all these medicines contains some dangerous elements and inappropriate amounts of active and inactive chemicals.

Many customers frequently complain of receiving drugs which they never ordered. These drugs contain some foreign version of chemicals like Haldol which is a strong anti-psychotic drug. Right after consuming this drug, the patients need immediate medical attention as they start suffering from muscle stiffness, muscle spasm and breathing trouble. The other fake websites often sell duplicate medicines which look exactly like the original ones but can be harmful for health.

In most cases people buying medicines online receive counterfeit drugs which can be contaminated, can cause severe side effects. These drugs are mostly bought by people suffering from diseases like asthma, diabetes, and different types of cancers.

To save yourself from all these problems you should know your medicines very well. If you are consuming a particular medicine for the first time you should always consult the physician to have a brief idea about the medicines and their effects on your health. It would be better if you buy them physically at least for the first time so that you can get up close personal with them. Apart from that, it is also suggested by the FDA that people should always follow the traditional way of buying medicines i.e. buy medicine offline. But even if you buy medicines online it should be from trusted and widely known websites. Government of India is trying hard to keep this mal-practice under control and keep our health safe. All that you need is to co-operate with them and avoid buying medicines online. But even if you do just follow a few tips that can keep you safe:

Do not ever buy medicines online without valid prescription and do not go for the sites that sell drugs without prescription. Do not ever reveal your personal information including bank account details or ATM pin etc. Sometimes these sites steal these information under the disguise of their e-commerce business. Though concern authority is taking actions but primarily it is our responsibility to stay safe and maintain our health.

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Additional Nutritional Supplements And Their Effects On Human Body

While reaching for a bottle of Vitamin D or vitamin C capsules how many of you think whether these will affect your health or really do wonder? The first thing you need to know before consuming these is whether you actually need them or not. Taking Additional nutritional supplements has become a regular habit among many Indians. Though most of them do not have any clear idea about what is it all about and what it does they keep on consuming it almost on a regular basis just to keep themselves healthy or to maintain their health. Moreover, these types of supplements are very easy to get as these do not require any prescription or doctor’s suggestion. These supplements are available in various forms like powered, capsules or in liquid forms. A few common supplements that includes herbal products, vitamins and minerals are known as botanicals.

It is a very common fact that different types of Vitamins, minerals and few other nutrients are necessary for human health. Without Vitamin A, C, D, people may suffer from the diseases like blindness, scurvy and others. But the amount of these elements should be limited.

Though a number of Indian as well as the international brands are launching a wide range of nutrient supplements every day in the market and most of them have become a part of our daily meals, many of these have some significant side effects.  A few recent studies have shown that taking these nutrients on a regular basis can do more harm than good to health. One of these studies even revealed that overdose of Vitamin D can even increase the chance of prostate cancer. In the countries like Puerto Rico, US and Canada many organizations ran a few tests where people were divided into 4 groups. While the 1st group was given 400 international units of Vitamin E, the 2nd, 3rd and the 4th groups were given 200 mg of selenium, both Vitamin E and selenium and inactive Placebo respectively. All persons took part in the studies were absolutely healthy without any diseases like cancer. But after the study it was shown that the people who were in the 1st and the 2nd groups and were given Vitamin E and Selenium and got prostate cancer. But the group taken both Selenium and Vitamin E did not affected much by the prostate cancer as Selenium has somehow minimize the effect of Vitamin E as well as the prostate cancer.

Apart from this, overdose of Vitamin A and D can also lead to various health issues, because both these vitamins are fat absorbers and can build up within the human body.  But this is a very rare case. But too little or too much of vitamins are definitely harmful for human body. We need different types of nutrients every day to maintain our good health and the list should include staple amounts of Vitamin D, Calcium, Vitamin, Folic Acid to improve our immune system and vision. But it is always suggested that we should depend completely on the natural diet for these resources. Food items like milk, fruits, vegetables, fishes, chicken and cereals are competent enough to supply all types of necessary elements to our body. Still if anyone wants to consume nutritional supplements he/she should consult a doctor to know which one can be perfect for him/her.

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What Are The Differences Between Branded Medicines And Generic Medicines?

While visiting a medicine shop we often come across a question i.e whether we would prefer to have a generic brand of a particular medicine prescribed by the doctor or not. Most of the time you get totally confused as you do not have any idea about generic or branded medicines.

Generic medicines are simply the copies of branded medicines having the similar chemical ingredients mentioned in the trademark formulation. The application, dosage and the usage of the generic drugs are as same as their branded counterparts. But there are obviously some differences and that comes in the form of some inactive chemicals. These chemicals sometimes make the medicines look different in colours and sizes from the branded drugs. But maintaining these differences is necessary to avoid trade protection, patent and other legal issues.

But after reading this if you have already started thinking that you have done a great compromise with your health by buying such generic drugs then we must assure you that the generic medicines work as effectively as the branded ones. Though they are cheaper but that does not minimize their credibility.

How many times did you feel like scratching your scalp while buying Paracetamol? The shopkeeper must have confused you with a range of names that do the similar job. There are number of drugs which serve the same purpose but have different brand names. These are called branded medicines. Their names are defined by their mother companies. For example, we are all familiar with the name Paracetamol which is a generic name but there are number of companies who produce the same medicines but with different names like Calpol, Panadol etc.

Following are some of the basic differences between generic and branded drugs:

Though both the generic as well as the branded drugs use the same ingredients but there are a few additional ingredients which can be found only in the generic drugs and these are known as excipients which sometimes can be different or of low quality.

Though apparently similar, sometimes the quality differs from one another.  Though the patents of the branded drugs reveals the ingredients but they do not disclose how to prepare the drug. Therefore, most of the time the entire manufacturing process becomes completely different from the original one.

Apart from these two there are few more differences. The generic medicines contain a few active chemical ingredients as same as the branded one. But as the other inactive chemicals used in the generic one sometimes create the differences and that is called the bioavailability.

Though generic medicines are equally popular in the market as they have the similar effect and come at far more cheaper rate. But sometimes these medicines can be a little harmful. For example, if you are using a medicine from a particular brand for a long time the quality of the active chemicals becomes steady in your blood. Now if you suddenly change the brand it can create a reverse effect on your body. But according to the doctors generic medicines are safe enough to prescribe. All that you need to do is to take care of the amount and the dosage while consuming the medicine. And last but not the least is that always take medicines prescribed by the doctors to maintain a good health and happy life.

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Price Cap On 12 Cancer Drugs In India

Finally some relief to the cancer patients and their relatives who are equally suffering both mentally and financially thanks to the excessive prices of the Cancer drugs. With the government of India’s decision to revise the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and national Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s recommendations, the prices of 12 cancer medicines in India may slash soon. The cost of the cancer drugs enlisted by the NELM will see a cut soon by DPCO (Drug Price Control Order).

The effort of controlling the price of the cancer medicines had to face a lot of controversies and opposition and challenges from the both side; people who were asking for reconsideration of the medicine prices and were agitating since the price hike since the last April as well as the pharmaceutical companies who were not in the favour of price slash and wanted to set their own prices.  A list of drugs that can save the patients from some of the life threatening diseases staring from breast cancer to leukaemia have come under the price control. These drugs usually costs from three thousand to eight lakh. In order to make the treatment available and affordable to all the cancer patients belonging to every strata of the society, Pharmaceutical pricing Authority of India has suggested to include 12 essential drugs in the list of NLEM. If the recommendation is accepted then many of these lifesaving cancer drugs will be available at an affordable price in India.

This significant step can help to drop the total cost of cancer treatment effectively. For example, the treatment for brain tumour using Temozolomide right now costs 2.16 lakh for the innovator brands while the generic variants are available at 20 thousands. Similarly, Irinotecan which is required mainly for treating ovaries and lung cancers costs around 1.87 lakh for innovator while it is available at 25 thousands for the generic variants. According to a number of renowned oncologists in India, this step will help a number of patients suffering from various types of cancers.

Though it is completely depended upon the Department of Pharmaceuticals whether they will give the approval to national Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s proposal, it is somewhat clear that Indian government is also strongly supporting the proposal. In a question answer round in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament, the honourable minister of Chemicals and fertilizers has confirmed that a core committee of some experts has been formed in order to review the proposal. He further confirmed that a chain of pharmacies has been established countrywide where these medicines will be available at an affordable price. This would be an ideal way to promote the cancer medicines in India among the people.

India is a poor country if we consider the average income group which rule the society. There are very few people who can afford to spend thousands of rupees for treatment or get health insurance coverage. Therefore, it is expected that, these people will definitely find it difficult to access the cancer drugs which costs around $47 to $12600 i.e. Rs. 3000 to 800000 in Indian currency. People falling in the average income group will be benefited hugely if the suggested 12 cancer medicines India come under the price control.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best! Let's pray for the recovery and good health of the Cancer patients. 

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