Late last month, PhonePe’s hyperlocal delivery app PINCODE piloted 24-hour medicine delivery in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune. The service relies on partnerships with local medical shops, rather than the typical quick commerce model that depends on dark stores. However, the legal limbo surrounding this online medicine delivery remains.
Key features
Through the app, users can access both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicines and receive deliveries from their nearest medical shops. Alternatively, customers lacking a prescription can place orders under the “no prescription” option, following which a doctor would contact them for a free teleconsultation. Following this assessment, the doctor would issue a digital prescription while abiding by telemedicine guidelines, PINCODE’s blog adds.
Industry body voices concerns
Taking note of this launch and other quick commerce applications venturing into the online sale of medicines, the South Chemists and Distributors Association (SCDA) wrote to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). In its letter, the association argued that medicines are not ordinary commodities like groceries or food and should be delivered with strict professional supervision and compliance with prescription protocols. It also cautioned about the menace of spurious drugs, which may increase owing to unregulated and illegal entities indulging in the sale of medicines. Ultimately, SCDA urged the Centre to take necessary action and ban the online sale of medicines.
Is doorstep delivery of medicines permitted?
PINCODE claims to address practical healthcare needs for individuals with time constraints and medical issues. It also aims to satisfy urgent medication requirements for OTC, emergency, or chronic care medicines. Going back, the Union Government permitted the doorstep delivery of medicines to meet emergency requirements by a notification during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centre directed that individuals who hold licenses under Form-20 or Form-21 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, can sell drugs through retail via doorstep delivery, provided they receive prescriptions for permitted Schedule H drugs through e-mail or physically. It also detailed several other conditions:
- The licensee should submit an email ID for registration with the licensing authority if they receive prescriptions through email.
- The licensee can only supply drugs within the same revenue district as its location.
- Medicines for chronic diseases shall only be dispensed within 30 days of the pharmacy receiving the prescription, and 7 days for acute cases.
- The licensee should maintain all records of such transactions.
Legal uncertainty
To understand the legal landscape and concerns around the online sale of drugs, MediaNama spoke to Yash Aggarwal, Legal Head at SCDA. Aggarwal first referenced the Delhi High Court’s (HC) injunction order on the online sale of medicines in the 2018 Dr. Zaheer Ahmed vs Union of India case. Since then, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has issued multiple letters to the drug controllers of states and union territories directing adherence to the Court’s order.
Aggarwal also shed light on Section 65 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which bars the re-dispensing of medicines. To explain, the rule prescribes that pharmacists cannot dispense prescriptions more than once, unless by explicit direction of the prescriber (registered medical practitioner). Additionally, pharmacists, while dispensing medicines under the prescription, should note the practitioner’s signature, the name and address of the seller, and the date of dispensation.
Under Forms 20 and 21, the Centre also directs that the dispensation of drugs can only be permitted within licensed premises. Explaining this rationale, Aggarwal noted that state authorities undertake proper inspection of pharmacies to ascertain whether premises are fit enough to store medicines. “Dispensation has to happen in the premises, and not on the street”, he adds.
Concerns with teleconsultation
Aggarwal also raised concerns about teleconsultations, questioning the effectiveness of remote consultations without physical examinations. He cited the example of a Bombay HC ruling that termed the issuance of a prescription without proper diagnosis “criminal negligence”. Adding to this, Aggarwal noted that users often lack knowledge as to who the person on the other end of the conversation is, whether an operator or a doctor. “Teleconsultation is more of a formality to cover bases, so that platforms can hold the prescription against medicines dispensed”, he opined. In their recent letter, the SCDA also termed e-commerce platforms advertising free medical teleconsultations as a quest to bypass the rules and increase their sales and profit margins.
Notably, in March 2020, the MoHFW issued the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines covering aspects like physician-patient relationships, liability and negligence issues, medical records, etc.
Ill-effects of online medicine delivery
Upon being asked about the potential adverse consequences of online medicine delivery, Aggarwal highlighted the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). For context, AMR or drug resistance is the process that causes bacteria and viruses to modify and outcompete medications. Over-the-counter use of antibiotics and inadequate use of diagnostics, alongside regulatory gaps, have led India to become a hotspot for AMR. Online applications may further exacerbate this problem, as per Aggarwal. Similarly, he pointed to the potential misuse of habit-forming drugs (under Schedules H1 and X) that are sold online.
Adding another dimension to the discussion, Aggarwal questioned how the quick commerce model supports legitimate verification of prescriptions. He also touched upon the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015, which define ethical standards for pharmacists. Under Chapter 4 of the Regulations, which elaborates on the duties of a registered pharmacist, only the Registered pharmacist shall perform the actual dispensing of drugs to patients after due verification of the prescription. Further, pharmacists should also undertake a pharmaceutical assessment of every prescription, verifying the safety, quality, efficacy, and rational use of prescribed drug treatments.
What is PINCODE’s perspective?
The concerns voiced above raise several questions about the legal validity and other issues regarding PhonePe’s medicine delivery venture. MediaNama contacted PINCODE with certain questions about the service:
Question: How does PINCODE ensure compliance with the legal restrictions on selling both prescription and OTC medicines online, especially given the injunction orders and existing laws under the Drug and Cosmetics Act?
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Responding to this question, a spokesperson stressed that the app maintains a global catalogue, with pharmacists only listing products available in the same. Additionally, they make sure this catalogue lacks any banned drugs.
Question: How does PINCODE ensure that enlisted local pharmacies meet necessary regulatory standards, such as proper storage facilities?
PINCODE claims to physically visit pharmacies and centrally verify their drug license during its onboarding process. It contended on having large national and regional pharmacies like Wellness Forever and Guardian Pharmacy on its platform.
Question: How does the app ensure the quality of teleconsultations and the legitimacy of digital prescriptions, given previous concerns about their superficiality?
Answering this query, they stated that PINCODE works with a third-party service provider, which also caters to national e-pharmacy chains to ensure quality teleconsultations.
Question: How does PINCODE handle prescription verification within a narrow delivery window, especially for drugs requiring careful oversight?
The platform affirms that pharmacists have enough time to verify prescriptions, alongside a dashboard and app to aid this process. In case of invalid prescriptions, pharmacists may even reject prescriptions and orders.
Why this matters?
Experts have also questioned the doorstep delivery of medicines and the overall illegitimate nature of online pharmacies previously. In January 2025, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) opposed RailTel Corporation of India’s plans to invite bids from online pharmacies to facilitate home delivery of medicines from railway-run hospitals. Besides this, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and SCDA have expressed issues about the inclusion of e-pharmacies in India. Speaking on e-pharmacies previously, Aggarwal had lamented the Government’s efforts, terming the suggested amendments (in 2018) to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules “rubbish” for giving e-pharmacies leeway and exempting them from requiring a licence.
Notably, PINCODE positions itself as different from conventional e-pharmacies by sourcing medicines directly from nearby medical shops and focusing on rapid deliveries. Circling back to government obligations, despite repeated calls from the judiciary and the CDSCO, there exists no clarity around the formulation of policies for the online sale of medicines. With other quick commerce applications also foraying into doorstep medicine delivery, and the online pharmacy sector being valued at $3 billion, it remains to be seen what regulatory actions the Centre takes.
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