Alphega Pharmacy plans to offer a click-and-collect service and personalised websites to its 950 UK members next year, speakers announced at its conference in Sutton Coldfield earlier this month (June 9).

Under the plans, patients would be able to order products to be delivered to their homes or the pharmacies. The virtual network will be following in the footsteps of the NPA, which received a mixed response from pharmacists when it launched a click-and-collect scheme for its independent members last month. 

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	Alphega UK head of development Clare Clark said online pharmacies were "reaping the benefits" of the rising number of internet users in the UK and Alphega was in an excellent position to take advantage of the trend.

Alphega Pharmacy UK general manager Sue Moore said that independent pharmacists could not "stand back and wait for patients to come into the pharmacy" and the internet was an opportunity for pharmacists to reach out beyond their local communities.

"What I'm not saying is internet pharmacy will take over – I think it's a combination of both. It's efficient, but if you want healthcare advice and expertise, there's nothing quite the same as coming into your pharmacy," she told C+D.

Ms Moore said the website plans were part of Alphega's "exciting new developments" in technology. The network announced at its conference that it would give out free tablets to all its members, which will include training apps that can be completed in the pharmacy.

But a C+D poll suggests that pharmacists remain unconvinced of the benefits of the online market, with only 31 per cent of the 162 readers who voted believing patients needed the option of buying products online.

Forty-six per cent felt that, although they needed a website, it was not essential to use it for selling products and 26 per cent felt they should focus on their pharmacy rather than online.