Amazon Pharmacy is launching automatic prescription drug distributors

Amazon announced on Wednesday the launch of automatic prescription distributors in its One Medical clinics. The new cabinet kiosks, operated by Amazon Pharmacy, allow patients to recover their prescriptions immediately after their appointment.

The Amazon Pharmacy kiosks will be available at the One Medical sites in Los Angeles from December, and Amazon plans to extend to other sites shortly after.

Once a service provider has written a prescription, patients can choose to send it to Amazon Pharmacy so that it is recovered at the cabinet’s kiosk. Patients then use their phone to make their payment in the Amazon application, after which drugs are usually “ready in minutes,” said Amazon.

Kiosks offer a range of commonly prescribed drugs, including antibiotics, inhalers and hypertension drugs. Amazon notes that the inventory of each kiosk is personalized according to the prescription models of its specific office and that controlled substances and drugs requiring refrigeration are not available via kiosks.

Patients will be able to use the Amazon application to find out the initial costs, including the available discounts and the estimated insurance share quotas, and connect to a pharmacist approved by video or by telephone consultation if necessary.

“We know that when patients have to make an additional trip to the pharmacy after consulting their doctor, many prescriptions are never executed,” said Hannah McClellan, vice-president of operations at Amazon Pharmacy, in a press release.

American pharmacies channels are in difficulty; Rite Aid closed all its remaining stores last week; CVS has closed more than 1,000 stores since 2021; And Walgreens has closed 500 stores in the past year.

The new Amazon kiosks could further disrupt physical pharmaceutical activities.

The launch of kiosks marks the latest Amazon initiative to extend its presence in the health sector. In 2018, Amazon bought the online pharmacy Pillpack for $ 750 million, then launched Amazon Pharmacy in 2020. Two years later, it bought the One Medical primary care provider.