Amazon speeds up prescription delivery in NYC, LA
Amazon Pharmacy launched same-day delivery to New York City and Los Angeles this week, with plans to expand the service to over a dozen new cities by the end of the year.
As of Tuesday, customers in New York and the greater Los Angeles area will be able to get medication to manage health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and the flu delivered to their door "within hours," according to the Seattle-based company.
Amazon told FOX Business that the next city to feature its services will be Orlando, Florida.
Customers in Indianapolis, Miami, Phoenix, Seattle and Austin, Texas, already have access to same-day delivery, while customers in College Station, Texas, can receive medication within an hour by drone.
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Tuesday's announcement marks a milestone in the company's effort to become an influential player in the health care sector.
Currently, rivals in the space like CVS and Walgreens will deliver prescriptions within one to two days for select medicines. Walgreens, though, does offer same-day delivery for certain medications.
Meanwhile, Walmart offers two-day shipping and overnight shipping for medications upon request, according to its website.
Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist who serves as chief medical officer for Amazon Pharmacy, said filling mail-order prescriptions is not something the health care industry has successfully executed — but if done right, it could eliminate delays in diagnoses and reduce trips to the drugstore.
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To help solve this issue, the company is relying on new small-format facilities, stocked with the most common prescription medications for acute conditions, so the company can get medications closer to where customers live. Its facility in Brooklyn carries a subset of the more than 12,000 medications available from its online pharmacy, the company said.
The company said that the team on-site in Brooklyn can process a prescription within a matter of minutes compared to before, which could take hours or even days.
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Gupta said the option will get patients medications faster than before, but it also comes with transparent pricing, so patients aren't hit with unexpected costs at the pharmacy counter.
"We don't just show you that… we have it in stock. We show you what you will be expected to pay with the application of insurance," he said.