Amazon last week (October 9) announced that it will expand its same-day medicine delivery service to address the growth of “pharmacy deserts” across the US.
The retail giant described its plan to open pharmacies in 20 more cities in 2025 as a way to “solve one of pharmacy’s biggest pain points: the lack of convenient, affordable access to medications”.
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“By the end of 2025, nearly half (45%) of US customers are expected to be eligible for same-day [delivery] of their prescription medications,” it said.
The new pharmacies will be part of Amazon’s same-day delivery sites and will allow customers to have access to a pharmacist 24/7, it added.
Read more: Amazon files for Amazon Pharmacy trademark in the UK
“In most cases, that means a customer can order medication by 4pm and receive it at home by 10pm,” Amazon said.
Patients in Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Diego will all be able to use this service, with more cities due to be announced in the coming months, it added.
“Reimagining healthcare”
Amazon vice president John Love said that same-day prescription deliveries are “reimagining healthcare delivery”.
“Amazon Pharmacy is integrating technology to modernise pharmacy while maintaining high-touch clinical care,” he added.
The retailer argued that its digital health services will “offer a solution to care gaps” created by “pharmacy deserts” across the US.
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Amazon Pharmacy was launched in the US in 2020 and the company filed for a trademark in the UK in the same year.
Although its pharmacy has not yet joined the register, members of the pharmacy sector have voiced their concerns – with some calling it the “one player that we all fear”.
In 2021, a study revealed that 41% of UK customers would choose Amazon’s pharmacy platform for medicines purchases once it became available.
US pharmacy cuts
Meanwhile, it comes as CVS last month (September 30) announced plans to cut 2,900 jobs in the US to try to reduce company costs.
A spokesperson said that CVS had “embarked on a multi-year initiative to deliver $2 billion in cost savings by reducing expenses”.
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While these cuts represent “less than 1%” of CVS’s workforce, most impacted positions will be in corporate roles and not “frontline jobs” in its pharmacies, it added.
“Our industry faces continued disruption, regulatory pressures and evolving consumer needs and expectations,” the spokesperson said.
Read more: ‘Pharmageddon’: Boots sister company says US walkout had ‘little impact’
This week, Boots’ parent company revealed some 1,200 “future expected store closures” in its Walgreens US network amid a 10% year-on-year pharmacy sales growth from Boots UK.
And last November, pharmacist staff at US pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS staged a three-day walkout over patient safety dubbed “Pharmageddon” by the media.