Medi Shop
Medi Shop
Welcome to the presentation on Medi Shop, a revolutionary subscription-based solution designed to transform the way medicine shops operate and enhance customer experiences. In this presentation, we’ll delve into the challenges faced by medicine shops, the unique features of Medi Shop, our subscription plans, financial projections, target audience, and our overarching objectives.
Problem Statement
We noticed that when a patient needs to buy medicine after visiting the doctor, they have to go to the dispensary to place an order. After ordering, they have to wait in a queue to pick up the medicine, which takes about 20 to 50 minutes on average. This wait time is even longer on weekends. We wondered, what if customers could use this waiting time more productively
elsewhere?
Additionally, we observed that once we sell medicine to a customer, there is no ongoing communication with them. As a result, the likelihood of that customer returning is quite low. What if we could establish a convenient means of communication between the dispensary and the customer, such as utilizing Push Notifications and LINE chat?
Our Solution: Medi Shop
Medi Shop is an innovative mobile application that addresses the challenges faced by medicine shops and improves customer interactions. By offering a convenient platform for prescription orders, reduced wait times, and enhanced communication, we aim to transform the traditional
pharmacy experience.
Way of Solution
- By uploading prescriptions using the Medi Shop app, customers can order medicines online without the need to visit a pharmacy.
- During the verification and approval process of the uploaded prescription, store personnel can chat with customers using the LINE app from the admin panel.
- Once the prescription verification is complete, store personnel will send a push notification to the customer for approval and payment. This helps prevent misuse of the system.
- Medi Shop accepts both cash and credit card payments.
- Medi Shop will send a push notification to the customer from the admin panel when the medicine is ready to be collected.
- After the medicine is collected, store personnel can communicate with the customer later using LINE chat and push notification from the admin panel.
- Store personnel can easily check from the admin panel who are running low on medicines. They can check whether it is within 7 days, 2 days, or tomorrow. With just one click, store personnel can send a push notification to the customer to remind them that they will soon be running low on medicines. This will steadily increase customer return visits.
Development Process
1. Requirement Analysis :
- Understanding the needs of the pharmacy and customers through market research and stakeholder interviews.
- Defining key features such as prescription uploads, payment options, chat integration, and push notifications.
2. Design & Prototyping :
- Creating wireframes and mockups to visualize the app interface, including the customer-facing mobile app and the admin panel.
- Ensuring that the design accommodates both medical professionals and regular users.
3. API Integration :
- Developing APIs for prescription upload, verification, payment processing, and communication with LINE for chat functionality.
- Ensuring smooth integration with payment gateways and push notification services.
4. Development:
- Developing the mobile app (iOS and Android) and backend using appropriate frameworks and technologies (e.g., Flutter for mobile, Laravel for backend).
- Implementing features like real-time push notifications, chat support, and inventory management.
5. Testing & Quality Assurance:
- Conducting usability testing with real users to ensure the app is intuitive and works as expected.
- Performing security tests, especially for the handling of personal and medical information.
- Running performance tests to ensure the app can handle the load during peak times.
Challenges
1. Prescription Verification:
- Many prescriptions are handwritten by doctors, often with unclear or stylized writing. OCR technology can struggle to accurately detect medicine names due to this.
- Balancing quick approval with regulatory requirements is a critical challenge.
2. Real-Time Communication:
- Maintaining a seamless communication flow between customers and store personnel during the verification process requires reliable integration with chat services like LINE.
- Push notifications also need to be timely and effective to keep customers engaged.
3. Payment Integration:
- Offering both cash and credit card payments can introduce complexity in the payment gateway integration and handling transactions securely.
3. User Experience:
- Creating an easy-to-use mobile interface for customers, especially older adults who may be less familiar with technology, is a challenge.
- Ensuring that the app is intuitive and functions smoothly is key to customer retention.
3. Data Security:
- Ensuring the privacy of prescription information, payment details, and customer data while complying with regulations like HIPAA (in some regions) is essential.
Technology Stack
1. Frontend (Mobile App)
- Framework: Flutter (for cross-platform Android & iOS support)
- UI Components: Custom Material Design Widgets
2. Backend :
- Framework: Laravel
- Language: PHP/JavaScript
- Database:Firebase Firestore (for flexible document-based storage)
- Authentication: Firebase Auth
- APIs: RESTful APIs for user management, prescription upload, order tracking, and chat integration
3. OCR (Prescription Processing)
- OCR Engine: Tesseract OCR / Google Cloud Vision API
4. Communication & Notifications
- Chat Integration: LINE Messaging API
- Push Notifications: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)
- Scheduled Reminders: Cron Jobs + Notification API (to alert users when meds are running low)
5. Payments :
- Payment Gateway: Stripe
