The British online medical practice Zava recently entered into a cooperation with the pharmacy service provider Noventi. The lifting of the ban on remote treatment and prescriptions means that Zava can now also offer its services in Germany, for which the company raised a Dutch fund of 28 million euros in 2019. The cooperation with Noventi should now give the service provider access to the German market. This includes its network of currently 5000 pharmacies as well as the free use of the Noventi app „Call my Apo“, with which medicines can be pre-ordered.
Zava’s concept is based on the idea that patients must first fill out an online questionnaire, which asks for information on venereal diseases and contraception, among other things. This is followed by a medical consultation via video chat and then the prescription is sent directly to the patient’s mobile phone via app. Since the pharmacy can be chosen at will for collection, the turnover of the in-patient pharmacies should be strengthened in this way, according to Dr. Hermann Sommer, Chairman of the Noventi Group. In addition, the digital strategy of online advice and online prescription redemption will be further developed. However, this business model is still under criticism, as, for example, questionnaire data can be changed as often as desired. Zava also gives the impression that it can be ordered directly without detailed medical advice, which is why Zava’s attempts at cooperation have failed several times. Thomas Koch, project manager at apotheken.de justified his refusal with the fact that Zava’s concept is too much designed for „prescription shopping“, which does not fit the idea of health care in German pharmacies.
Noventi’s advertising measures are also problematic, as they advertise by linking stationary pharmacies to telemedicine, which is uncharted territory in Germany. However, there are some pilot projects such as the GERDA model in Baden-Württemberg that are already testing such a transition to telemedicine. Patients can obtain advice in KV-owned online medical practices such as DocDirekt and receive a digital prescription which they can redeem in some selected pharmacies. Other providers such as Teleclinic and DocMorris are pursuing similar projects that aim to combine telemedicine and connection to local pharmacies.