Quick commerce websites, like Blinkit and Zepto, are now delivering prescription medicines - in fact, both quick service providers launched their quick-commerce pharmacy services earlier in 2025. While this mirrors India's growing demand for convenience and the need for quick accessibility of life-saving and essential drugs, the model has raised serious questions among pharmacists, doctors and public-health experts. Blinkit now allows users to order prescription drugs, and not just over-the-counter ones, through the app for fast delivery. They also offer instant teleconsultations where they generate prescriptions within minutes with the help of doctors, after which medicines are dispatched. Users and experts are now concerned about risks of antibiotic misuse, poor verification and medical oversight.
This issue came to light after an X (formerly Twitter) user shared her experience of ordering medications from Blinkit. She added that she "fell ill twice" in the last few months and that she consulted a doctor through Blinkit. The user, Neha Moolchandani, described her experience and said, "Just order few medicines and they will ask you to upload a prescription and if you don't have that then they'll connect you to a General Physician and within a minute a Doctor will call you! You tell your problem and He/She'll suggest you the medicines and send you a prescription on the app! No extra consultation charges!"
Moolchandani also shared screenshots of both her prescriptions. One of the prescriptions has a mention of 'Azithromycin 500mg' which is an antibiotic. A recent study published in the Lancet eClinical Medicine journal revealed that 83% of Indian patients carry multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). More research has highlighted how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major challenge globally and in India, with government and other agencies also urging caution when it comes to antibiotic use. The concern with quick delivery of antibiotics is quite important, and the reaction to Moolchandani's tweet shows that.
Quick Delivery But Weak Oversight Can Spell Danger For Public Health
Moolchandani's tweet garnered the attention of doctors on X and they shared how this quick delivery of medicine could be a threat to India's increasing antibiotic resistance crisis. Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as the 'TheLiverDoc', took to X to share his view on the 10-minute delivery of medicines. He shared, "A physician has diagnosed fungal infection through a phone call and given a prescription for antibiotics (Azithromycin) for a viral cold. This looks like a paid promotion for this useless service. If you need a proper diagnosis and treatment, please visit a doctor."
He further added, "Don't order a doctor through Blinkit. Whoever thought of this, please stop this bull***t service. It reduces the realistic value of healthcare service in this country."
Dr Rishikesh Balvalli, an X user highlighted how the quick commerce sites are not prescribing the drugs but are giving a prescription for the drug that the customer already paid for. He said, "The 'blinkit' doctors are not prescribing the drugs. They are giving a prescription for the drug you already paid for. The 1 minute phone call is a formality. It absolves blinkit from any liability and shifts the medical legal responsibility to the doctor. These doctors, many of them foreign medical graduates or NEET PG aspirants are also a victim of circumstance."
Another X user, Dr Zubin Sharma, wrote, "This is just to validate or bypass rules to sell prescription drugs online without getting into trouble. Hire MBBS or BHMS graduates cheaply to validate prescriptions. Done by Apollo, Blinkit, 1mg and all. The consult is AFTER you buy the meds!"
Doctors have highlighted how these quick delivery options could increase your risk of antibiotic resistance, which is a growing concern in India.
Why These Ethical And Legal Concerns Matter
India's Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Pharmacy Act, 1948 require all prescription medicines to be dispensed from a licensed pharmacy under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. Quick-commerce websites are legally not authorised to store or sell Schedule H (prescription drugs), H1 (stricter antibiotics/psychotropics with red 'Rx' label and record-keeping to fight resistance), and X (highly addictive/narcotic drugs kept under lock and key with very strict records/licensing) medicines.
Another issue that comes into question is prescription verification and 'instant prescriptions'. One of the strongest concerns of doctors and experts is around prescription authenticity. They say:
- Prescriptions may be approved within minutes of minimal teleconsultations
- Some prescriptions may not be rigorously verified against medical registrations
- The same prescription image may be used multiple times across platforms
- There is a risk of forged or fake prescriptions being accepted.
Experts also fear that this could enable easy access to antibiotics, which could increase India's already growing antimicrobial resistance. They also highlighted how it could increase the use of psychotropic drugs, enabling dependency risks, and painkillers, which require strict monitoring.
Traditional pharmacies require physical scrutiny of prescriptions and often reject unclear, reused or suspicious prescriptions. Quick-commerce models may not provide an equivalent safeguard, and this is what concerns doctors and healthcare experts.
An X user, Madhur Kotharay, shared his experience of ordering medicines through PharmEasy. He shared, "Last two times, PharmEasy delivered the medicines ordered under 2-hour-delivery a day later. Without any excuse of rains. Unlike groceries on Zepto & Blinkit, medicine orders on PharmEasy need to reach in 2 hours, if they were promised."
Quick delivery of medicines can turn out to be a boon as it can help save lives. However, it is important to note that such practices should be done with due caution, as it can add burden to India's healthcare ecosystem.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
