Dive Brief:
Seniors on Medicare can now use PillPack from Amazon Pharmacy, a service that pre-sorts medication packets before sending them to consumers’ homes, the e-commerce giant announced Tuesday.
Amazon also announced a new feature allowing customers to invite caregivers to manage medications on their behalf.
The new offerings appear geared at enticing the senior population — massive consumers of healthcare who may be unfamiliar with ordering medications online — to Amazon Pharmacy, which Amazon launched in 2020 and bills as a transparent marketplace for more affordable prescription drugs.
Dive Insight:
Despite some downsizing last year and reports of lackluster consumer interest, Amazon has stayed bullish in the online pharmacy space, hoping to lean into what analysts say the company does best: profiting from streamlining clunky consumer experiences and making products more affordable.
The Seattle-based tech giant has hustled to build out Amazon Pharmacy: rolling out generic drug savings program RxPass and expanding it to Medicare, launching manufacturer coupons for select brand name medications and insulin and more.
Now, Amazon says its new features announced Tuesday will help ensure people are filling their prescriptions and make it easier for caregivers to keep an eye on medications for their patients.
PillPack, for example, sorts drugs into individual packets labeled by date and time. The service is meant for customers with two or more recurring prescriptions, who can sign up for PillPack at no additional cost.
Its foray into Medicare means that the more than 50 million people in the federal insurance program’s prescription drug plans who take multiple medications can now use their insurance for PillPack, Amazon said. The expansion opens a big door for Amazon — Medicare is often the great white whale for companies hoping to gain access to a massive patient population that consumes an outsized amount of healthcare services.
An Amazon spokesperson did not respond to a request for more detail on the offerings by time of publication.
Most Medicare members have two or more chronic conditions — at least two-thirds of enrollees, according to government data. And, the program accounts for roughly one-fifth of the nation’s total health spending.
Amazon is one of a rash of disruptors in the pharmacy space looking to entice clients fed up with rising drug prices and opaque pharmaceutical supply chains. The companies, many of which are growing quickly, have been making life difficult for legacy drugstore chains like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid (the latter of which is currently undergoing its second bankruptcy, citing — among other factors — increasing competition).
Along with pharmacy, Amazon is also focusing on care delivery. Despite some high-profile crash-and-burns of past offerings, including hybrid care provider Amazon Care and cost-lowering venture Haven, Amazon has built out online marketplaces for telehealth and chronic condition management, and acquired medical chain One Medical in 2022.
