We speak to Santosh Sahu, Founder and CEO of Charac, to learn more about the industry’s fastest-growing pharmacy tech platform.
THE FUTURE OF PHARMACEUTICAL DELIVERY
Having been derived from ‘Charka’, the inventor of Ayurveda medicine in India, pharmacy tech company Charac was heavily inspired by the South Asian community when it was conceived in 2020.
Founded by CEO Santosh Sahu on the belief that a holistic approach and rapid digitalisation will help independent pharmacies safeguard their business and create new revenue sources amid pressure from the NHS, Charac’s platform enables pharmacies to digitise their current processes by providing repeat prescriptions and consultations via phone, video, desktop, or mobile.
The company was recently awarded the Best Solution for Connecting Healthcare at the 2023 HTN Awards, and is looking to continue to make waves in the pharmaceutical industry by digitally empowering independent community pharmacies to deliver more private services, reducing their reliance on NHS revenues and making them more accessible so that local communities have better access to healthcare services in the UK.
Ultimately, what sets Charac apart from the rest is its bespoke white label development, marketing support, electronic transfer of prescriptions, omnichannel solutions, data processor, collective teamwork, and a passion for making healthcare readily available to everyone, all working together to help digitise the UK’s £12 billion pharmaceutical sector.
Q&A WITH SANTOSH SAHU, FOUNDER AND CEO, CHARAC
Firstly, please introduce us to Charac as a leading healthcare software-as-a-service provider.
Santosh Sahu, Founder and CEO (SS): Charac is an NHS-integrated pharmacy tech startup that supports independent community pharmacies through its innovative digital platform and app, providing pharmacies with a digital presence to increase revenue and efficiency, as well as achieve better outcomes for patients.
I came up with the idea for Charac to fill a gap in the market for tracking prescriptions. As a diabetic, I have struggled with ordering repeat prescriptions and keeping track of them – and the solution to improve accessibility was simple: an Uber Eats for medication!
Charac has become much broader than that, aiming to provide both pharmacists and patients a one-stop shop for all their medicinal needs, including booking and managing consultations and appointments, as well as delivering prescriptions.
Since its inception, we have partnered with organisations, including Positive Solutions, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the leading Australia-based platform, MedAdvisor.
How dedicated is Charac to driving pharmaceutical growth through streamlining the operations of community pharmacies?
SS: Charac aims to improve the operational efficiency of pharmacies through digitalisation. Shifting to a technology-driven system, including moving paperwork, such as patient and medication records, onto a digital platform, can facilitate easier file sharing and storing. This will help streamline processes and minimise administrative actions.
By increasing efficiency, pharmacists will have more time to provide personalised services to customers, improving patient outcomes and helping to build a growing, loyal customer base. Furthermore, pharmacists will also be able to work on revenue-boosting services, such as the New Medicine Service (NMS), which allows pharmacists to claim NHS payments when supporting patients on new prescriptions.
Charac’s digital transformation of pharmacies also includes digital marketing services, helping community pharmacies advertise their services and reach a wider audience.
How does Charac’s innovative solution support pharmacies, over 1,000 of which have closed since 2017 due to budget cuts and increased demand?
SS: Many community pharmacies are currently struggling operationally due to staff shortages, chronic underfunding, and antiquated technology. According to Community Pharmacy England (CPE), community pharmacies have seen funding cuts of nearly 30 percent since 2016, and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) found that community pharmacies are facing an annual shortfall in funding of over £750 million.
Also, pharmacists were added to the Home Office’s job shortage list in 2021, with a Health Education England (HEE) survey finding that pharmacy staff vacancies doubled between 2017 and 2023. Staff shortages and increased demand for primary care, with NHS waiting lists soaring, mean pharmacists are under more strain than ever.
Adopting technology and making operational and administrative tasks much easier for pharmacists will help reduce the pressure pharmacists face while earning more revenue. This means pharmacies are better placed to manage periods of increased demand while being self-sustainable, as funding fails to keep pace with inflation.
How is Charac set to support the UK government’s Pharmacy First framework, which came into action on 31st January?
SS: Pharmacy First will drastically expand the remit of pharmacists and increase the number of customers, both of which will put additional strain on pharmacists’ workloads. A Charac survey conducted in partnership with YouGov just before the launch of Pharmacy First found that as little as 23 percent of patients were using pharmacies as the initial port of call for certain minor conditions. This more than doubled to as high as 56 percent once patients were aware of Pharmacy First.
Pharmacists are already severely stretched, with a Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) survey in 2023 finding that 81 percent of pharmacists are struggling to cope due to a rise in workload. The Pharmacy First rollout will only add to this, however, Charac can help resolve this issue by encouraging pharmacies to adopt digitalisation promptly. Driving digital adoption through Charac and other platforms is imperative to alleviating pressure on pharmacists.
What about your ground-breaking partnership with MedAdvisor? Can you provide some key details about this?
SS: MedAdvisor invested £1 million last year in Charac, with its CEO Rick Ratliff joining our board as a Non-Executive Director. As part of the partnership, MedAdvisor has made Charac’s app available to pharmacies across the US, Australia, and New Zealand, while Charac is set to gain control of MedAdvisor’s UK operations in the second half of the 2024 financial year.
With MedAdvisor serving 95 percent of Australian community pharmacies, 25 percent of New Zealand’s network, and over 235 million patients globally, this is an excellent opportunity for Charac to expand its international reach and support pharmacies across the world.
Finally, can you tell us about the funding Charac has raised?
SS: Following a recent investment round from private equity firm Traditum, the funding raised by Charac has now reached more than £4 million, including investment from the National Pharmacy Association. Since launching in October 2022, we have signed up more than 800 pharmacies and 40,000 patients in the UK and are on track to reach 4,000 pharmacies by 2027.
