HealthPlus, Nigeria’s first integrative pharmacy continues to take leaps and strides in strides in keeping its commitment to raise the standard of care and provide safe access to wholesome medications
Since the exit of its Founder and former CEO, Bukky George, the business has executed some turnaround initiatives including focus on core business activities, asset optimisation and business innovation to bring about an improvement in the performance of the company.
Chief Transformation officer Chidi Okoro remarks “we have embarked on a range of measures to recover from a period of a performance turbulence and transition, these measures have marked a significant upturn in corporate performance. Our priority has remained facilitating access for more Nigerians to great pharmacy care services in particular and healtcare in general.”
“We have recommissioned stores that were shut down, we have also relocated underperforming stores, reactivated suppliers’ relationships, and replenished fast lines to the shelves for HealthPlus and CasaBella stores. We have ensured that inventory is being converted to cash more efficiently through improved commercial planning and marketing. The key here is an ongoing upgrade of the technology and inventory management system,” CFO Ernest Eguasa remarks.
“We have improved our operational efficiency by executing direct-to-store deliveries to optimize the speed to our shelves nationwide. This improved our timeliness and ability to respond to changing customer needs without the accompanying working capital restraints. We also introduced fast-moving grocery Sku’s (water, healthy drinks, etc.) to improve average basket values and attract footfall to the branches,’ The CTO explains.
Our business development strategies have seen us working with our partner ecosystem for quick wins. We are partnering with priority Health care providers across the ecosystem, from trusted telemedicine tech companies, HMOs’ and key 3rd party cold chain logistics delivery companies to enable strategic possibilities that will enable us to operate more efficiently by allowing HealthPlus to focus on the things we do best while expanding our reach.
One of our successes has been in the launch of our e-Pharmacy Platform https://www.healthplusnigeria.com. The future of care is not just convenience and virtual-first, but design around the patient’s/customers’ needs. Customers desire a multi-touch, digitally-enabled experience. Those who are managing a chronic condition were more eager to embrace and see value in the new technology as they have access to HealthPlus Pharmacists and refill of their medications from the comfort of their homes. Healthcare is moving toward a consumer-centered model where people can shop for care and share data with an endless array of apps and services. HealthPlus is pioneering the transition to the patient-focused model.
Our ePharmacy platform is a first-of-its-kind application, the next generation of healthcare access for Nigerians. The platform is a recent innovation that will facilitate the interaction between patients (customers) and health-service providers nationwide. HealthPlus e-Pharmacy is an integrated healthcare ecosystem that also provides access to telemedicine as well medical diagnostics capabilities. Customers can also engage a beautician on the embedded Casabella platform.
Since its launch in September 2021, our customers find it very easy to order prescription drugs through e-Pharmacy. Especially for people who live far away from a traditional pharmacy, the elderly, disabled people, and those who work very intensively, this system is both a very easy and a very fast method of obtaining medicine. Additionally, the shipping cost is much cheaper than traveling to a traditional pharmacy.
HealthPlus e-Pharmacy offers a much wider range of options than a traditional pharmacy which provides a great advantage to patients. It is not possible to find every drug in a physical pharmacy in a particular area, our e-Pharmacy provides access to a wider range of drugs and special request orders that allow us to meet every customer’s needs
Our online customers enjoy better pricing than offline stores, with increased access, lower transaction and product costs, convenience, and greater anonymity for consumers, a huge advantage offered by e-Pharmacy is privacy and confidentiality. HealthPlus also offers accessibility to people with limited mobility and people in remote areas.
Speaking on the effect of these initiatives on the business Afsane Jetha, Managing Partner & CEO Alta Semper, and HealthPlus’s private equity partner remarks, “We are delighted at the traction seen by the HealthPlus business over recent months, which is a testament to the strength of the management team and the HealthPlus brand. We are encouraged to see our recent new investments in the company be put to use in best-in-class disruptive technology such as e-pharmacy and access to digital primary care services, which is providing Nigerian consumers access high-quality medication and healthcare products as well as an enhanced customer experience.”
Zachary Fond, Managing Director at Alta Semper also remarks. “HealthPlus has proven it can sustain, thrive and achieve its mission of creating better access to the communities it serves, despite a difficult macroenomic environment. We look forward to continuing to support the company in its digital transformation over the coming months.”
HealthPlus is excited to usher in this new era in healthcare, where we will play a critical role in transforming healthcare and bringing lasting change by becoming more consumer-focused and precision-driven. we are increasingly focused on preventative care and patients’ well-being, in providing access at their fingertips to the last mile.