Walgreens is teaming up with FedEx on a prescription delivery service that plans to deliver your meds in as soon as one day.
Deerfield-based Walgreens announced Thursday that it is partnering with FedEx on a nationwide next-day prescription delivery service that allows customers to bypass the drugstore counter and order medicine online and get it delivered to their home. Users will be able to receive text alerts when a prescription is ready and pay a $4.99 fee to get it delivered the next day.
The move comes as competition for online prescription ordering is heating up. Amazon reportedly bought online pharmacy startup PillPack in June for around $1 billion, which is part of a greater healthcare push from the e-commerce giant.
Drugstore competitor CVS rolled out its own prescription delivery service earlier this year.
Walgreens' service, called Walgreens Express, also allows patients to preview the cost of their prescription, prepay for medication and choose between home delivery or pickup in store. The company said patients will be able to use a Walgreens Express pickup checkout line to receive their prescriptions if they choose in-store pickup.
“Walgreens is driven by a desire to make healthcare accessible to all across the thousands of communities we serve," Richard Ashworth, Walgreens' president of operations, said in a statement. "Next-day prescription home delivery is another convenience-driver, alongside our industry-leading number of extended hours pharmaciesand one of the most downloaded digital apps in the category, designed to put care in the hands of our patients.”
Walgreens also said that same-day delivery is available in select markets and will be expanded in 2019.
