Amazon Ventures Into Digital Pharmacy: Online Prescription and Free Delivery Service for Prime Members
Getting in line and getting that prescribed drug can be a very refreshing thing to do. Well, newsflash, it doesn't anymore. Due to COVID-19, it is very risky to go out and dive into a flock of people with the current situation. Even with social distancing and masks over your face, the risk lessens, but it is still there. Now with Amazon diving into the world of pharmaceuticals, customers from the United States can order prescription medications for home delivery and even get it for free for Prime users.
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According to Consumers News and Business Channel (CNBC), the leading online market in the United States has been building its pharmaceutical plans for several years after gathering people for its pharmacy market in 2017 and obtaining PillPack in 2018. CNBC added that Amazon announced that this movement is their biggest project yet in the $300 billion markets, which threatens the dominance of traditional pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and other large retail companies such as Walmart.
Because of this, pharmacy stocks went down due to the emergence of Amazon pharmacy. According to Business Insider, Amazon pharmacy's announcement moved the stocks of traditional pharmacies such as Rite-aid, Good Rx, Walgreen Boots Alliance, and CVS Health. Creating a major uproar in the pharmaceutical industry, CNBC said that the announcement is well-timed because Americans choose their medicines to be delivered to avoid possible exposure to the coronavirus. In an interview with CNBC, Amazon's vice president of Pharmacy and co-founder of PillPack, TJ Parker, said that they wanted to make it easy for people to get their medication, understand the cost and get it delivered to their homes. He added that the hard work is to make it easy, and there were several complications behind the scenes.
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How does online Pharmacy work?
The pharmacy will be available for Amazon store users age 18 and above and is offered in 45 states of the United States, excluding Illinois, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Minnesota. However, the company expects to serve the said states in the future. CNBC added that Amazon pharmacy would accept most of the insurances, but they also noted that the company could offer savings for people without insurance. They also added that customers could use flexible spending accounts of health savings in buying prescriptions or medicines in the service.
Amazon will also require customers who will use the program for the first time to answer questions such as if they are pregnant, their date of birth, and the gender assigned at birth under the law in providing pharmacy care. CNBC added that this feature of the program would help pharmacists in doing things such as confirming prescriptions.
In an interview with CNBC, Amazon Prime Vice President Jamil Ghani said that their new feature would benefit and add tremendous value to their members. It is relevant as people try to do more from the comfort and safety of their homes.
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