Amazon has decided to transform itself (also) into a gigantic one online pharmacy. The American e-commerce giant has announced a new offer – Amazon Pharmacy – which will allow citizens of almost all Use (45 out of 50 states) ordering via the internet also prescription drugs, with the sole exception of opioids. Delivery, as always, will take place at home and will be free for Amazon Prime customers, while others will have to pay a few dollars.
You must be of legal age to access the service. As for the payments, Amazon Pharmacy will accept most health insurance and offer discounts to the uninsured.
But how will the bureaucracy for prescription drugs be managed? First of all, doctors will be able to send prescriptions directly to Amazon Pharmacy. Otherwise, patients will have the right to ask for the delivery to take place in a traditional pharmacy, where of course they will be able to collect it only by showing the prescription.
Amazon says it has tools to verify that a doctor legitimately ordered each prescription and to crack down on potential fraud. Customers will be able to track the delivery of their prescriptions just like they can with any other Amazon order.
The move by the group led by Jeff Bezos poses a threat to large traditional pharmacy chains active in the United States, such as CVS and Walgreens, as well as other large retailers offering the same services, including Walmart. Not a small upheaval, in a market that in the US alone is worth something like 300 billion dollars a year.
