Watching as his ill daughter struggled in a pharmacy waiting room was the catalyst for Adam Gilmore to launch a new advancement in medical assistance.

Isabella was just 18 months old when her parents took her to the doctor with a high fever and laboured breathing.

At the time, she was Mr Gilmore’s only child and the ordeal was extremely confronting for the new father. In spite of the harrowing experience, it inspired a new venture – Tonic.

“My daughter was just beside herself, we just wanted to take her home and comfort her but she was there in a pharmacy waiting,” Mr Gilmore said.

“The doctor prescribed something for her, but by the time we had gotten to the pharmacy and waited, it had been about half an hour to get the medication.

“She was just there in a pharmacy waiting, and I thought there had to be a better way to get medication to people.”

Tonic – the nation’s first prescription medicine delivery app – has gone on to help thousands of people in its year of operation in Brisbane. The service aims to provide comfort and ease of accessibility to users, and now the business is coming to Mackay.

Mr Gilmore and his Tonic co-founder Guy Mckenzie have been surprised by the success of the business in Brisbane, and are excited to broaden their scope in regional towns.

After successful trials in Brisbane, Tonic will allow users in Mackay to scan prescriptions and have medication and over-the-counter products delivered to their home or office. Mr Gilmore said the scope of users was wide – from carers to busy mums.

“People have talked about how it has changed their lives,” he said.

“It sounds grandiose to say, but there are a lot of people who are caring people with disabilities who have really benefited from this and who cannot leave the house.”

Tonic has also collaborated with House Call Doctor so after hours doctors can write prescriptions at home visits, and Mr Gilmore expects it to be available in a matter of weeks. Mr Gilmore said there were 16 areas across Queensland where House Call Doctor operated, and Tonic’s vision was to off patients their service in each of those region over the coming months.

“For doctors it gives them peace of mind that the patient will get their medication and for patients it means they don’t have to leave their sick bed,” he said.

“I think this is another piece that’s going to provide better and more advanced health care to the regions. I think a lot of the time products like this focus heavily on the cities and not the regions, and that’s something we want to have as a point of difference.”

Original Source: Daily Mercury | 7 May 2019