Flipkart forays into healthcare sector; launches Flipkart Health Plus app

New Delhi: Walmart group firm Flipkart on Wednesday announced its foray into the healthcare segment by launching a new app Flipkart Health Plus to leverage its reach and serve more than 20,000 pin codes across the country.

Flipkart Health Flipkart Health Plus platform will onboard over 500 independent sellers with a network of registered pharmacists for validation of medical prescriptions and accurate dispensation of medicines, the company said in a statement.

Flipkart Health Plus chief executive officer Prashant Jhaveri said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, Indians have witnessed a tremendous shift in favouring wellness and preventative healthcare and there is an increased focus on health and wellness like never before.

"Through Flipkart Health+, we aim to solve the critical gap of accessibility to genuine medicines and healthcare products and services across the country, especially in the remotest parts of the country that have been under-served until now," Jhaveri said.

The app is available on the Android Play Store and will come on iOS in future, the statement said.

Flipkart said that even though it is an intermediary marketplace platform, the company has put in place various quality checks and verification protocols, which will facilitate the delivery of genuine medicines and healthcare products from independent sellers to the customer's doorstep.

"In the coming months, Flipkart Health+ plans to onboard third-party healthcare service providers, who will offer other value-added healthcare services like teleconsultation and e-diagnostics to the customers," the statement said.