Designing External Prescription Experience for GoApotik

GoApotik Initial Analysis

I recently installed the GoApotik app. The platform positions itself as an "Apotik Online" with a large network of partner pharmacies, backed by its own manufacturer and distributor ecosystem under Dexa Group and Medela Potentia. At first glance, this appears to be an obvious digital initiative for a pharmaceutical group as large as Dexa, allowing them to connect with customers in new ways while strengthening their distribution ecosystem.

GoApotik Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: Of course by having its own manufacturer (Dexa Group) and distributor (Medela Potentia) is already a big plus, GoApotik can sustains by offering a much better promo and price compared to just intermediary like Halodoc. Also I think it has a very good relationship and certification with the health ministry of Indonesia, GoApotik can become the main distributor for new initiative from the regulator.

Weaknesses: Compared to the competitor such as Halodoc/Alodokter, GoApotik may be lagging in terms of customer experience, one of the features that all Digital healthcare ecosystem should have is:

Integrated consultation and prescription workflow. Users should be able to consult with professionals and receives prescription directly in app. GoApotik already has this feature to chat with pharmacist but it still very minimal and using 3rd party vendor (Mekari Qontak), which mean it will be harder to integrate it with GoApotik app especially to prescripe medicines. It was steps in the right direction but I believe GoApotik need to consider creates an inhouse prescription workflow rather than relying on 3rd party provider.
External Prescriptions: Most Indonesian patients still prefer to be diagnosed offline by a doctor. It is safe to assume that this is where friction occurs in the customer journey, as GoApotik cannot control the prescription format, handwriting, or diagnosis process. However, GoApotik still needs to adapt and somehow integrate these external inputs into its own workflow. If GoApotik can eliminate this friction smoothly while leveraging Dexa Group's capabilities and regulatory advantages to offer access to more strictly regulated medicines, this could become one of its key differentiators. In this case study, I want to explore this workflow end-to-end, from the UI to the entire customer journey.

"Unggah Resep" Feature

Below is a high-level workflow for handling external prescriptions. While some regulatory requirements still need further validation and research, the core principle remains the same:

Prescription fulfillment should prioritize patient safety and regulatory compliance over automation and convenience.

Therefore, the workflow intentionally introduces multiple safeguards and verification checkpoints, including:

Identifying whether the prescribed medicines are classified as Obat Keras (prescription-only medicines).
Determining whether the prescription contains Narcotics or other highly regulated medicines, which may require additional review or may not be eligible for digital fulfillment.
Requiring manual review by pharmacists or authorized healthcare professionals whenever the prescription cannot be confidently interpreted or falls under stricter regulatory categories.

Next, let's take a look at the UI & Workflow so we can imagine how it works.

1st Screen: Touch Point

This is the first touch point for customer to upload their external prescription, in the top the screen explicitly said what it will do and how much time the customer needs to wait. The rest of the screen will focus on how we consume the data (patient profile, photo, and even notes).

2nd Screen: Exception Handling & Additional Verification

Healthcare workflows are rarely perfect. Prescriptions may be blurry, incomplete, or difficult to interpret even by healthcare professionals. Instead of immediately rejecting the request or leaving the customer without context, this screen introduces a transparent verification process.

The timeline at the top helps customers understand that their prescription is still being processed and exactly where the process is currently blocked. The conversation section allows pharmacists to request additional information, such as a clearer photo or further clarification, without requiring customers to restart the entire process.

The objective of this screen is to reduce customer anxiety, maintain trust, and ensure that uncertainty triggers additional verification rather than unsafe automation.

3rd Screen: Prescription Fulfillment & Compliance

Once the prescription has been successfully reviewed, customers are presented with a transparent breakdown of the medicines that can be fulfilled, their quantities, and any additional requirements before checkout.

This screen also acts as the final compliance checkpoint. Certain medicines, particularly prescription only and hard drugs, may require additional identity verification, age verification, or physical document checks in accordance with Ministry of Health regulations.

Rather than hiding these requirements until the last step, the experience proactively communicates why additional verification is necessary and how it protects both patient safety and regulatory compliance.

The objective is to make regulated purchases feel trustworthy and predictable, while ensuring that convenience never bypasses medical and legal obligations.

Closing Remarks

That's it! I really enjoyed creating this case study. Building products in heavily regulated industries like healthcare makes product development significantly more challenging. Every workflow, UI, and business logic must be designed with regulatory considerations in mind.

GoApotik has tremendous potential and upside, but this potential can only be realized if the product successfully integrates the broader Dexa Group ecosystem while delivering an exceptional customer experience. Thank you for reading this!