Did you know? 2025 is going to be a major hit for the medical industry with the Global e-pharmacy market expecting to reach $443.01 billion. Another interesting fact also acknowledges that businesses established in the healthcare sector have a lesser chance of business downfall. Isn’t that a sign of security? 

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shift in lifestyle toward a healthier way of living and working. Without a doubt, the pandemic has sped up the expansion of the medication delivery sector. 

More than ever, people are searching for methods to get their prescription drugs delivered right to their door without having to leave their homes. As a result, businesses that provide medication delivery services now have a ton of opportunities. 

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But for today’s entrepreneurs and company owners, creating an app for the medication delivery service is the icing on the cake.

Therefore, if you’re considering launching a medication delivery business or enhancing your current one, you must create a medicine delivery mobile app. 

This guide will cover a wide range of topics, such as the advantages of creating an app, different business models, the most well-known on-demand medicine delivery apps, features you should incorporate into your app, development time and cost, and much more! 

But first, read the future of medicine delivery app development!

Let’s explore this crucial manual to turn your company concept into a profitable medication delivery app. 

Reasons for Companies to Invest in 2025 Drug Delivery Apps

Apps for medication delivery are becoming more and more popular. During the epidemic, they saw a significant increase in demand, and they continue to see one now.

The pharmaceutical medication delivery industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% from $1,949.4 billion in 2024 to $2,546.0 billion by 2029.

Both consumers and pharmaceutical firms may profit greatly from a drugstore delivery app. Using a mobile app to order medications saves time, provides access to a large selection of medications, protects privacy, etc.

Customers can profit from prescription delivery applications in the following ways:

• Placing medicine orders from the convenience of their residences
• There’s no reason to go outside.
• A large selection of medications
• Access to information about medications
• Savings and exclusive deals
• Order tracking capability
• A quick comparison of prices

Pharmacies can also gain from medicine apps:

• Larger consumer base
• Sophisticated analytics
• Strong marketing instruments
• Increased interaction with customers
• Customer retention is made easier.

Without a doubt, developing apps for medication delivery is a growing industry. Solutions that enable home medicine delivery will become more and more popular due to the present global epidemiologic crisis and the unpredictable future. Starting the healthcare software development of your prescription delivery app now will provide you with a competitive advantage in the years to come.

Business Plans for an App that Delivers Drugs

Two business strategies are often used by medicine delivery firms to operate and make money. You must choose the best business strategy for your company before you can begin developing apps.

Examine two main business models and discover the differences between them:

The first business model

This business plan works well for large pharmacies that hold a lot of prescription drugs. These businesses may go from the offline to the internet realm and develop their own medication delivery app. High brand awareness is this business strategy’s primary benefit. However, this business strategy necessitates maintaining a sizable medication inventory.

The second business model

The second business model suggests serving as a middleman between pharmaceutical providers and consumers. These prescription delivery applications provide medications from independent pharmacies and act as order aggregation platforms.

The developers of these apps are not required by this business model to keep any medications on hand. They are solely in charge of receiving, processing, and forwarding orders to drivers who deliver medications.

Before you begin developing pharmacy delivery apps, you must select one of the possible business models based on the nature of your enterprise. In this manner, you will be able to identify a vendor with suitable experience, create the best feature list, and better coordinate the development process.

What are the features required for building a medicine delivery app? 

Creating an on-demand pharmacy app requires well-defined features for each type of user to ensure smooth operations, efficient order processing, and a positive user experience. Here’s a breakdown of the essential features, categorized for each user role:

1. Admin Panel Features

• Dashboard: A comprehensive view of app activities, analytics, and performance tracking.

• User Management: Manage profiles for users, pharmacies, and delivery partners, including the ability to approve or deactivate accounts.

• Inventory Management: Oversee medicine stock levels, update availability, and set alerts for low-stock items.

• Order Management: Track, manage, and update the status of all orders in real-time.

• Revenue Management: Monitor transactions, earnings, and payout management for pharmacies and delivery partners.

• Discount & Promo Codes: Create and manage discounts or promo codes to attract customers.

• Reports and Analytics: Generate reports on app usage, sales, peak hours, and customer behavior for data-driven decisions.

• Notification Management: Send push notifications or in-app alerts to users, pharmacies, and delivery partners.

• Customer Support Management: Handle user queries and complaints, manage tickets, and ensure quick resolution.

2. User Features

• User Registration & Profile: Easy sign-up and profile creation using email, phone, or social media.

• Prescription Upload: Option to upload prescriptions for certain medications requiring a doctor’s approval.

• Medicine Search & Categories: Search bar, categories, and filters for easy browsing by brand, generic name, or category.

• Order Placement: This simple order process, allows users to add medicines to the cart and place orders.

• Order Tracking: Real-time tracking of the order’s status, including pharmacy processing and delivery.

• Order History: View past orders and re-order frequently purchased medicines quickly.

• Notifications: Receive alerts for order status updates, promotional offers, and reminders to reorder medicines.

• Payment Integration: Secure payment options, including credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and cash on delivery.

• In-App Chat or Call Support: Customer support for queries regarding prescriptions, order issues, or medicine details.

• Ratings & Reviews: Allow users to rate pharmacies and provide feedback for quality control.

• Medicine Reminders: Set reminders for medicine intake or refills for regular prescriptions.

3. Pharmacy Features

• Pharmacy Registration & Profile: Profile setup with verification to display relevant information to users.

• Inventory Management: Update stock information for each medicine, including quantity and availability.

• Order Management: View incoming orders, process them, and notify users if an item is out of stock.

• Prescription Verification: Verify prescriptions for certain restricted medicines as required by regulations.

• Pricing Management: Set prices for medications, manage discounts, and update based on demand.

• Analytics and Reports: View reports on sales, popular items, order history, and revenue generated.

• Customer Interaction: Option to chat or call users for clarifications on orders or prescriptions.

• Payment Settlement: Receive payments through the app and track transaction history.

4. Delivery Partner Features

• Registration & Profile Setup: Easy registration and profile setup, including identity verification.

• Order Pickup Requests: Get notifications for available orders to pick up from nearby pharmacies.

• Route Optimization & Navigation: Integrated map with optimized routes for timely delivery.

• Order Tracking: Ability to update order status at each stage, from pickup to delivery.

• Earnings Tracking: View earnings per delivery and access weekly/monthly payment summaries.

• In-App Communication: Contact users or pharmacies for order-specific queries.

• Order History: View past deliveries to track performance and resolve disputes if necessary.

• Availability Toggle: Enable or disable availability for taking delivery orders.

5. Optional Features

• Multi-Language Support: Enable users to choose their preferred language for easier navigation and usability.

• Health & Wellness Content: A blog or article section for health tips, disease information, and medication guidelines.

• Loyalty Program: Reward frequent users with discounts, cashback, or exclusive offers.

• AI Recommendations: Suggest frequently purchased medicines or add recommendations based on order history.

• Telemedicine Integration: Connect users with doctors for quick consultations, particularly for prescription renewals.

• Medicine Scanner: Allows users to scan barcodes of medicines they currently use for quick reordering.

These features collectively help build a fully functional and user-friendly medicine delivery app, ensuring streamlined operations for admins, pharmacies, delivery partners, and end-users.

How To Start With Medicine Delivery App Development?

There are several phases to the development. Finding a trustworthy software development company, identifying rivals, creating a unique selling proposition, and launching, and promoting your application are all necessary.

1. Research & Analyze About the Market

A comprehensive market study is the first step in every successful application development process.

This stage has many substages where you will need to determine the size of the market, learn about the views of developing a drug delivery app in a certain area, identify potential obstacles, and identify your rivals.

2. The monetization approach and business model

It’s time to select the ideal business strategy for your application once you’ve thoroughly examined the market for medication delivery apps. Review the sections that describe various business models and monetization techniques. Select the characteristics that your application must have in order to satisfy all of the model’s criteria.

3. Look for a business that develops mobile apps.

Coming up with a compelling USP is just as vital as identifying the finest software development company. App development may be outsourced to many different areas. Nonetheless, Europe is unique because of its vast array of businesses, advanced technological know-how, and relatively affordable costs.

Also read: 10 ways custom software development is transforming the healthcare industry.

Note: Keep in mind that the ultimate development cost is influenced by the area where you outsource app development. While development costs in the USA range from $150 to $200 per hour, the hourly rate in Europe is about $50 to 80.

4. Select the features of the prescription delivery app.

The functionality of the future app must be decided based on your selected business model and monetization approach. 

The initial version of the app, which will only include the most basic features, can be used to begin development. Be careful not to overburden it with features that consumers aren’t using.

Following a successful validation of the app idea and subsequent phases of development, further functionality can be added.

5. Test and release an app for medication delivery

Quality Assurance Engineers must test all aspect of a medicine delivery app, starting with the user interface and user experience and on to the front-end, code, and other components.

6. Make plans for continued assistance and development

After your program is out to the market, the development process continues. You must plan the future version of your software and make changes to enhance the user experience as soon as it is successfully deployed.

7. Promotion & Collaborations

In addition to developing the program, you must invest effort in finding partners, suppliers, and couriers, and promoting the application. To draw in new users, you might urge your partners to promote your apps. To collaborate with the app that will sell your goods and enhance your brand’s reputation, target major drugstore chains.

What is the Cost of Building a Medicine Delivery App?

The cost of building a medicine delivery app can vary widely based on several factors, including the app’s complexity, the platform (iOS, Android, or both), the geographical location of the development team, and the specific features you choose to include. 

Below is a breakdown of the primary cost considerations to give an estimate for developing a healthcare delivery app. 

1. Key factors to consider: 

Features & complexity

The number and complexity of features (e.g., prescription uploads, real-time tracking, AI recommendations, and multi-language support) can significantly affect costs.

Platform 

Building an app for a single platform iOS or Android app development services will be less expensive than developing for both. Cross-platform development using tools like Flutter or React Native can reduce costs compared to separate native apps. 

UI/UX Design 

A user-friendly and attractive design requires an experienced designer. Complex and custom designs generally cost more than standard or template-based designs.

Also read: Proven ways to enhance your healthcare app UX for better experience

Backend Development

Backend infrastructure to support functionalities like inventory management, order processing, and real-time tracking will impact costs based on the desired speed, reliability, and scalability.

Third-Party Integrations: 

Payment gateways, map services (for delivery tracking), SMS notifications, and chat support add to the cost.

Data Security and Compliance: 

Ensuring compliance with regulations (e.g., HIPAA in the US) and implementing secure data handling practices for sensitive health information are critical in the medical field.

Location of Development Team:

Costs vary by region; for instance, development rates in North America and Europe are generally higher than in Asia.

2. Look at the Cost Breakdown: 

Here’s an approximate breakdown based on a medium-complexity medical delivery app:

3. Cost estimate by app complexity

1) Basic App: $20,000 – $30,000

Essential features only (basic user interface, order placement, inventory management for pharmacies, simple tracking).

2) Medium-Complexity App: $50,000 – $80,000

Includes features like real-time order tracking, in-app chat, multi-platform support, and analytics for the admin panel.

3) High-Complexity App: $100,000+

Advanced features like AI recommendations, telemedicine integration, advanced analytics, and compliance with regulations.

4. Cost of Additional Features

• Telemedicine Integration: $5,000 – $15,000
• AI-Powered Recommendations: $5,000 – $12,000
• Multi-language Support: $2,000 – $6,000
• Loyalty Program Integration: $3,000 – $8,000

5. Ongoing Maintenance and Updates

After the initial launch, budget around 15-20% of the initial development cost annually for app maintenance, feature updates, and security enhancements. For a medium-complexity app costing around $60,000, maintenance might range from $9,000 to $12,000 per year.

The final cost can vary based on customizations, team location, and the desired level of functionality.

Conclusion

You must have realized from the information above that digital transformation is the way of the future for pharmacies, and these applications are leading the charge in this change. Thus, creating a pharmaceutical delivery app is a big step in integrating technology and healthcare to promote ease and accessibility.

But creating a successful medication delivery app involves more than just emulating a conventional pharmacy’s operations online. It necessitates a thorough comprehension of the distinct requirements of both consumers and pharmacists, as well as the careful incorporation of features that address these requirements. 

You now have a comprehensive understanding of many important topics, including business models, advantages, the technological stack, and the cost of developing an app, thanks to this tutorial for developing drug delivery apps.

So, let’s use this lucrative business chance to increase your sales dramatically. Get in touch with us to have the greatest mobile app development company in the business create an excellent medication delivery app!