[sytelus]

Just wondering why couldn’t Walgreens do this? During covid, Walgreens is still one store that you must visit physically to get your prescription. I always thought there was some crazy health care regularization that prevented medicine delivery.

[eli]

Walgreens does delivery. https://www.walgreens.com/topic/pharmacy/prescription-delive...

[jedimastert]

Nope, just inelastic demand. They didn't need to to be competitive, and gig economy wouldn't work because...well, yikes.

[whoknew1122]

Oh, don't you worry. The gig economy is coming for prescriptions, too. Uber Eats gave me a push notification about it the other day.

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/uber-health-launches-pre...

Absolutely no way mixing the gig economy with PHI ends well.

[jedimastert]

I'm not as much having issues with PHI as much as just the thought of handing controlled substances to strangers. Sure, there's probably background checks or whatever, but still...

[jacques_chester]

> I always thought there was some crazy health care regularization that prevented medicine delivery.

Nope. Both major pharmacy chains (Walgreens, CVS) and pharmacy startups (Capsule, Alto) have been around for years.

I used to collect from CVS in person because they were downstairs from my office, but they nagged me constantly to switch to mailed pharmaceuticals. Now that I'm WFH I use Alto, who deliver.

[Simulacra]

Not neccessarily. There has been a push in the past ten years for mail order handled by Pharmacy Benefit Managers. PBM's are entities that work directly with the drug manufacturer to purchase in bulk, then delivering straight to the consumer at a lower cost than the pharmacy. The retail pharmacy industry, both chain and independent, absolutely despise PBM's and fight vociferously against them because it gives consumers the option not to go to the pharmacy. I predict Amazon will face the same attacks.

Much to a larger issue, though, is the question: Do we really need pharmacists that much anymore? Vending systems would accomplish the same task, for less money. I contend most people don't even speak to a pharmacist anymore.

[yourapostasy]

> I contend most people don't even speak to a pharmacist anymore.

While compounding pharmacists are still useful for those esoteric formularies, I would wager "normal" US pharmacists are still relied upon by the vast segment of the US population who are near-functionally illiterate and innumerate, on a big combination of drugs (don't get me started on how unhealthy swathes of the US population are), and cannot be bothered to work out for themselves drug interactions (much less how to get off of the drugs if possible). The disjointed nature of the US healthcare system promotes such inefficiencies.

[Nasrudith]

Just because you don't speak to them or see them doesn't mean they don't do work. They still have the responsibility of spotting known complications.

Theoretically it could be replaced with a large database but that is a major undertaking to encode once, let alone keep it up to date. In practice there are also trade-offs and judgement calls like "Yeah this may cause kidney failure but living on dialysis is better than dying of cancer."

[astura]

Huh? Every major pharmacy in the US offers home delivery, including Walgreens, as well as discount pharmacies like Costco and Walmart. None of them even charge extra for it either.

[Red_Leaves_Flyy]

My local pharmacy ships all my meds overnight at no additional cost and they're cheaper than Wal-Mart. If it's got a DEA # then I need to show my ID and sign for it. It's usually shipped USPS but they also have couriers. I haven't had any meds that required refrigeration but I imagine they just use a courier for that too.

[ShakataGaNai]

My local CVS is .75mi from me, but if I can avoid standing in line (see also: COVID)... I will. They mail my meds.

Once a month they text me saying "hey, your 'script is ready", I click the link, put in my CCV... and 2 days later my meds show up at my house. Every month, like clockwork.

[barbecue_sauce]

Medicine delivery is very common for local mom & pop pharmacies, though it may depend on state/municipality. I know DoorDash was working on getting their pharmacy delivery operations up and running at one point, but I'm not sure what the current status of that is.

[Red_Leaves_Flyy]

Gig drivers delivering meds?

WTF wouldn't go wrong?

[hyperdimension]

"Here's your oxymorphone, a 23-day supply."

[sct202]

I've gotten pharmacy delivery from Walgreen before. I don't think they publicize it very much, but like a couple months ago I called into check the status of a prescription and they just brought it.