Amazon entering pharmacy business

Amazon continues to wade into the healthcare space as the online retail behemoth announces Amazon Pharmacy.

According to a news release, the new store on the Amazon website will allow customers to purchase prescription drugs from their desktop or mobile device through the Amazon app. By creating a secure pharmacy profile, customers can add their health insurance information, manage their prescriptions, and choose their payment options before checking out.

The release also notes that Amazon Prime members will receive unlimited, free two-day shipping on their Amazon Pharmacy orders included with their membership. Prime members will also be able to save money on medication when paying without insurance on Amazon Pharmacy and at more than 50,000 participating pharmacies nationwide. These savings will be up to 80 percent off for generic and 40 percent off name brand medications when paying without insurance.

“We designed Amazon Pharmacy to put customers first – bringing Amazon’s customer obsession to an industry that can be inconvenient and confusing,” TJ Parker, Vice President of Amazon Pharmacy, says in the release. “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.”

Earlier this year, Amazon announced their new Neighborhood Health Center Pilot Program in partnership with Crossover Health. The first such clinic is available to the 20,000 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas.

The plan is to, through the initial phase of the program, establish 20 such clinics in five cities across the U.S. with the goal of improving access and care for the more than 115,000 Amazon employees in Phoenix, Ariz.; Louisville, Ky.; Detroit, Mich.; the San Bernadino-Moreno Valley area, Calif.; and Dallas-Fort Worth. If the pilot program succeeds Amazon will seek to expand to other cities.