Amazon Pharmacy launches RXPass

[Prepharm1214]

Introducing RxPass from Amazon Pharmacy, a $5 prescription subscription that helps Prime members who take multiple medications save time and money

In addition to all the savings, convenience, and entertainment they already enjoy, Prime members can now receive all of their eligible generic medications for just $5 a month and have them delivered free to their door. Medications that treat more than 80 common conditions, such as high blood…

www.aboutamazon.com

5$ add on to prime membership, includes about 60 medications delivered at no charge. List below:

Amazon Pharmacy: RxPass

Prime members, subscribe to RxPass and get all of your eligible meds for just $5 a month.

pharmacy.amazon.com

Obviously will be a loss leader, will be interesting to see if it is sustainable for the longterm.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[sunnyandseventytwo]

Finasteride and sildenafil included. How can anyone afford not to join?

 

[gwarm01]

Ctrl-F -> Insulin: No results
Bah

 

[BenJammin]

Just did the math and we'd lose money after the 5th prescription if we did that. What's the federal minimum wage again? $7.25? That would be my starting salary for a pharmacist if RxPass is the new model of pharmacy.

 

[Pronounce Doxazosin]

After a quick look, looks like most prices can be matched with goodrx like discount card
It will be interesting to see how they handle sudden changes in AWP. I can’t image suddenly removing drugs from the list would go well

 

[sunnyandseventytwo]

After a quick look, looks like most prices can be matched with goodrx like discount card
It will be interesting to see how they handle sudden changes in AWP. I can’t image suddenly removing drugs from the list would go well

I don't think you're reading it right. $5 a month and there is no per prescription charge. Now, you've also got to pay for Prime membership, which is like $140 a year. And Amazon is well aware that once you're paying for Prime, you're going to be ordering 10 times as many Amazon packages as before...

 

[Pronounce Doxazosin]

I don't think you're reading it right. $5 a month and there is no per prescription charge. Now, you've also got to pay for Prime membership, which is like $140 a year. And Amazon is well aware that once you're paying for Prime, you're going to be ordering 10 times as many Amazon packages as before...

Oh, I guess I was just looking at their regular prices then
I guess I can get #150 sildenafil 100mg for $5 then

 

[sunnyandseventytwo]

Oh, I guess I was just looking at their regular prices then
I guess I can get #150 sildenafil 100mg for $5 then

Only 6. Only perverts need more than 6, or something.

Amazon.com : SILDENAFIL

 

[PharmDminus]

Just did the math and we'd lose money after the 5th prescription if we did that. What's the federal minimum wage again? $7.25? That would be my starting salary for a pharmacist if RxPass is the new model of pharmacy.

right. so what does this mean for market disruption and future of our profession from the retail perspective. i remember when walmart came out with $4 generics we thought walgreens would be done for. that was in 2007 or so

 

[BenJammin]

right. so what does this mean for market disruption and future of our profession from the retail perspective. i remember when walmart came out with $4 generics we thought walgreens would be done for. that was in 2007 or so

Thankfully Mark Cuban and Amazon just don't understand the health care market. People still like going to an actual pharmacy and that's by design. They can't offer what a brick and mortar store can offer. If it was all about price then Walmart would be owning the pharmacy industry in the 2000s and it never happened.

Mark Cuban doesn't accept insurance which is his downfall even though it's what his model is based around. He can't be successful with market share without accepting insurance. None of these models can offer what insurance can offer a patient.

 

[projektreverb]

Well well well…

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I've only transferred like 2 things to Amazon ever. Everyone was freaking out about them, but they aren't really disrupting anything.

 

[Script1992]

Thankfully Mark Cuban and Amazon just don't understand the health care market. People still like going to an actual pharmacy and that's by design. They can't offer what a brick and mortar store can offer. If it was all about price then Walmart would be owning the pharmacy industry in the 2000s and it never happened.

Mark Cuban doesn't accept insurance which is his downfall even though it's what his model is based around. He can't be successful with market share without accepting insurance. None of these models can offer what insurance can offer a patient.

Plus, CVS renews PBM contract with Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield and establishes contract with Ingenio RX and has their own PBM- Caremark, and and Walgreens buys out Aetna. I doubt amazon can disrupt this power structure.

 

[GrandTheftAutumn]

Walgreens buys out Aetna.

Huh?

 

[PikminOC]

Huh?

I think CVS and Aetna merged

 

[genesis09]

We got a transfer request from Amazon. That was immediately shredded because in Wisconsin, all transfer requests must be initiated verbally. If agreed to verbally, the paperwork can than be faxed.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

We got a transfer request from Amazon. That was immediately shredded because in Wisconsin, all transfer requests must be initiated verbally. If agreed to verbally, the paperwork can than be faxed.

I used to get them pretty often in NY. I shredded every one and never had a patient or the pharmacy call to follow up.

 

[mentos]

Remember when Amazon was supposed to disrupt brick & mortar pharmacies when they bought Whole Foods?

 

[BenJammin]

We got a transfer request from Amazon. That was immediately shredded because in Wisconsin, all transfer requests must be initiated verbally. If agreed to verbally, the paperwork can than be faxed.

That's pretty interesting!

 

[Script1992]

I think CVS and Aetna merged

yes, you are right. Walgreens makes investment in Rx Advance.

 

[Chrish]

I like the idea of transfer fax request. Saves me a phone call.

I always get a verbal request if I don’t follow up immediately. So, I would just rather send it via fax.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

I like the idea of transfer fax request. Saves me a phone call.

I always get a verbal request if I don’t follow up immediately. So, I would just rather send it via fax.

Fax is way better than verbal if legitimately requested. But if I ignore every one of your faxes and never hear back from you or the patient asking why I didn't send the requested info then I think I made the right call ignoring the request.

 

[mentos]

Wow I totally forgot about transfers. One more thing I don't miss about retail!

 

[BenJammin]

Transfers need to become professional courtesies rather than duties. A pharmacist should be allowed to deny a transfer request.

 

[Pronounce Doxazosin]

Transfers need to become professional courtesies rather than duties. A pharmacist should be allowed to deny a transfer request.

Denying a transfer sounds like a slippery slope, unless there is legit medical reason to deny it
In fact, I think there is a state (don’t ask me which one, because I don’t remember) that has a bylaw stating that a request transfer has to be done with 24 hours of request

 

[Chrish]

Transferring whole profile is utter bull****. I have several people who don’t bother to change the pharmacy in their doctor’s system when they decide to come to us. Then every month we have to call other pharmacy and ask them to send us whole profiles which never happens in with one call (rph on duty will forget and we have to call next day to remind them).

I have started telling people they will have to get in touch with their doctor directly to send us new prescriptions if we don’t get their profile in one try. It’s enormous waste of time for all parties involved.

 

[owlegrad]

Give me a fax any day please.

 

[PharFromNormal]

Transfers need to become professional courtesies rather than duties. A pharmacist should be allowed to deny a transfer request.

“Oh that’s weird looks like there’s no refills left, you’ll have to reach out to the prescriber…. Oh you want me to try? Ya one sec I’ll put you on hold…. Hey you still there? Ya I just tried and the line was busy, you’ll probably have better luck. Sorry have a good one.”

 

[PharFromNormal]

Remember when Amazon was supposed to disrupt brick & mortar pharmacies when they bought Whole Foods?

Word on the street is even beyond the significant moats that the huge established pharmacy giants have a hold of that already makes it very hard for Amazon to get a big contracted network….

They are having their own internal integration struggles. Pillpack was bought years ago but still operates even internally like a separate company than Amazon pharmacy. There’s allegedly logistics/supply chain hiccups and the idea that they could easily piggy back on the strongest supply chain/logistics operation in the world isn’t as easy as it may have been believed.

Amazon excels when they can enter a pretty fragmented market and bottom seek (even at the cost of negative margin) operating costs.

Unfortunately for them, pharmacy is late stage maturity. Very consolidated already, and the ones with huge share have been at the bottom seeking on cost game for quite some time. Mail order, nor what pillpack offered in packaging, is not new or novel. Amazon would have to beat on service (which they aren’t traditionally known for) or price which for the large majority of scripts is out of pocket price. With a pretty decent amount of scripts filled through Medicaid… they ain’t competing with essentially free.99 nor are likely to get into any Medicaid network.

They are really limited to the same universe of opportunity that Mark Cuban is going after which isn’t nothing but it’s also not a giant piece of the total. They are fighting over scripts that are essentially impacted by a benefits design opportunity. Covering any of Cubans meds and putting a copay that’s at or cheaper than cost plus price … would overnight hurt that.

 

[BenJammin]

Unfortunately for them, pharmacy is late stage maturity. Very consolidated already, and the ones with huge share have been at the bottom seeking on cost game for quite some time. Mail order, nor what pillpack offered in packaging, is not new or novel. Amazon would have to beat on service (which they aren’t traditionally known for) or price which for the large majority of scripts is out of pocket price. With a pretty decent amount of scripts filled through Medicaid… they ain’t competing with essentially free.99 nor are likely to get into any Medicaid network.

They are really limited to the same universe of opportunity that Mark Cuban is going after which isn’t nothing but it’s also not a giant piece of the total. They are fighting over scripts that are essentially impacted by a benefits design opportunity. Covering any of Cubans meds and putting a copay that’s at or cheaper than cost plus price … would overnight hurt that.

That's the big problem with Cuban's venture but he says that being the low cost provider means that service isn't going to be very good. I can't see how he's a serious threat to the industry with an outlook like that. Say what you will about CVS and Walgreens quality of service but patients are more willing to wait in line for an hour and pay a little more vs days and days of delay at a better price.

I think this is why he's trying to partner with independent pharmacies. Like you mentioned, if insurance plans began competing with him on copay pricing then no one would ever use his pharmacy unless they want his service (which he already says is terrible).