Amazon is going all-in with its pharmacy vertical, launching a separate storefront with two-day prescription delivery for Prime members.
“As more and more people look to complete everyday errands from home, pharmacy is an important and needed addition to the Amazon online store,” Doug Herrington, senior vice president of North American consumer, Amazon, said in a statement on Tuesday (Nov. 17).
“PillPack has provided exceptional pharmacy service for individuals with chronic health conditions for over six years. Now, we’re expanding our pharmacy offering to Amazon.com, which will help more customers save time, save money, simplify their lives and feel healthier,” he added.
Amazon Pharmacy enables customers to complete a pharmacy transaction from their smartphone or desktop. The self-serve platform gives users the ability to create a profile with insurance information and payments. In addition to getting free, two-day delivery, consumers can also manage their medications and refills.
When Prime members pay for prescriptions without using insurance, they will get discounted rates — 40 percent off brand names and 80 percent off generics — and have the option of choosing from over 50,000 participating drugstores. Between the Amazon Prime prescription savings benefit and Amazon Pharmacy, users can easily compare prices.
“We designed Amazon Pharmacy to put customers first — bringing Amazon’s customer obsession to an industry that can be inconvenient and confusing,” said TJ Parker, vice president, Amazon Pharmacy.
“We work hard behind the scenes to handle complications seamlessly so anyone who needs a prescription can understand their options, place their order for the lowest available price and have their medication delivered quickly,” he added.
In January, Amazon filed a trademark for Amazon Pharmacy in Australia, Canada and the U.K. to gain the ability to move into areas like dental instruments, surgical, medical or veterinary.
The future of healthcare lies at the junction of technology and payments. John Jesser, president of clinical solutions at Amwell, told PYMNTS in an “On The Agenda: The Future of Healthcare” roundtable that telehealth “is really a great source for direct medical guidance, treatment and prescription ordering.”