Amazon Buying Online Pharmacy Pill Pack

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Yea. We’re all screwed if we don’t come together, and start organizing, and strategizing. Seriously. I know friends that work at Amazon in strategy, and they were made to kill businesses, and maybe in this case entire professions.
 
JamesL1585 said:
Yea. We’re all screwed if we don’t come together, and start organizing, and strategizing. Seriously. I know friends that work at Amazon in strategy, and they were made to kill businesses, and maybe in this case entire professions.
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Just go back and become a physician assistant or MD.
 
Amazon and its drones and 1 day delivery...seniors and drug apps/internet ordering/script-identity verification, controls? etc...its risky but we will see if it pays off.

retail brick and mortar will have to introduce more delivery options to compete...traveling pharmacists?
 
I've transferred about 75 rxs to pill pack (3 patients with large script counts). All three transferred back after the first month. I don't know the specifics but they were all unhappy. Anyone heard their customers are happy with pill packs service?
 
mnoble said:
I've transferred about 75 rxs to pill pack (3 patients with large script counts). All three transferred back after the first month. I don't know the specifics but they were all unhappy. Anyone heard their customers are happy with pill packs service?
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An independent I worked at did something similar and they were successful only because we went through each med and asked where they wanted each pill to be in each day. If they wanted something changed the next month they called... we changed it. I don't know how "customer friendly" pill pack is on changes and making sure things arrive on time
 
They can't scale it yet, we have another yr or two 😉 I don't think the operation is ready to fill Amazon volume anytime soon...
 
At least this happens before the purchase period for the ESPP, just means we get more stock at a bigger discount for this period and next.
 
leelo_x said:
Amazon and its drones and 1 day delivery...seniors and drug apps/internet ordering/script-identity verification, controls? etc...its risky but we will see if it pays off.

retail brick and mortar will have to introduce more delivery options to compete...traveling pharmacists?
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Walgreens stock from 96.6 in 2015 to 59 today. Yikes
 
I guess Cvs defense will be to not let any Caremark or Aetna plans fill prescriptions at pillpack?

And Wow, has no idea Walgreens stock had dropped that low!
 
This is a big deal. There is a lot of waste in healthcare. If amazon can cut out the fat then they would have a major competitive advantage


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drakegrad2011 said:
I guess Cvs defense will be to not let any Caremark or Aetna plans fill prescriptions at pillpack?

And Wow, has no idea Walgreens stock had dropped that low!
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Yea, I think CVS is actually really smart by buying Aetna. Get ready for a bunch of "Refills are not covered" rejections from Aetna.
 
I don't care, my amzn portfolio is happy. It has been very clear amzn would enter the drug/medical space. It's profitable. They exist to make profit. Bezos exists to take over. He won't stop with just pharmaceuticals.
 
I have a soft spot for brick and mortar pharmacies, especially independents since I used to tech at one. The family, next-door neighbor feel. The pharmacist that knows what is going on your life and can anticipate or address your needs. It's a nostalgia of the old times, when people knew people, before the age of social media.

If you think about it one way, brick and mortar is a pretty inefficient out of date method for distributing medicine. Pharmacies are mini-drug distributors that require documentation to obtain drugs. Having a dozen in a town, staffing them, keeping the lights/heat/water on, constructing, equipping, zoning, maintaining, securing, is inefficient and technically...not needed or oversaturated for many communities. Amazon could cut a lot of fat out. (No offense to the posters here who work retail...I don't think of you as useless extras contributing to high costs of drug dispensing!...but we kind of are...don't worry I do some retail too). This could be a good way of tracking and controlling controlled meds though...

Amazon is doing what mail order has done already but larger scale, open to newer ideas, a more blank slate unlike current mail order that's established and so they can be more innovative. They're also a tech company at heart, so in-house they can make their own software, interface, and do their own upgrades rather than a chain contracting out or buying software licenses. AMZN is more flexible/dynamic. Pharmacists won't like others who threaten the current paradigm, that's a reality. But it's good to always have challengers.

However, watching Pill pack, it just looks like a mail order that unit doses, nothing transformative, bad customer service, doesn't carry all meds (yet) . But they do bring Chinese-style manufacturing and scaling principles...AMZN has to reshape Pill Pack and Silicon Valley doesn't always have all the answers. This won't be a simple transition for AMZN. Many examples where tech makes a move, people will say it's disruptive, then nothing happens. Life goes on. We're still using credit cards! Many still use cash! Microchips to track drug compliance? What happened to that drug vending machine, MedAvail? Not all great ideas get adopted.

I'm more interested in their PharmacyOS system that could be more of a threat and don't show in their video before I can really say this makes life easier. We already have robots that dispense into bottles. Unit dosing isn't that big a deal. And not everyone takes > 5 meds.

Still this is one of the reasons I'd avoid retail as a long-term career. I just couldn't shake the idea off my head when I was a student, why a model like mail order couldn't just destroy traditional pharmacy? Change is always happening, so at some point, retail could be altered. Doesn't mean it's end of the world though. ATMs replaced many tellers but now they offer other services or financial products. Until there's a system that verifies medications, pharmacists will still work. Just maybe less...
 
I worked in an independent that did something similar. This is a very labor intensive process and open to many errors. What happens when a coumadin dose is changed? Do you think a call center will find the problem and correct it?
 
Does anyone think we're giving Amazon a little too much credit here? Sure, they've killed entire sectors of retail but pharmacy is a little more complex than their typical transactions. The price is set by PBMs (assuming insurance not cash pay), so their usual tactic of undercutting price to grow revenue can't be applied. Operate more efficiently to expand profit margin? Possibly, but CVS/WAGS aren't exactly overstaffed. Not sure there's much fat left to trim.

I'm just not sure this news was worthy of 11 billion loss in retail pharmacy market cap.
 
The obvious next step is for them to buy a PBM and/or insurance company.
 
Here's what we know about Amazon's foray into healthcare

Speculation about Amazon's entry into healthcare has been rampant for years, but recent announcements by the e-commerce giant make it clear that it's jumping into the healthcare arena in a big way.

Here's a breakdown of Amazon's healthcare ventures, acquisitions, hiring trends and product developments reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The timeline includes Amazon's healthcare moves since announcing it would launch a healthcare company with Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase in January 2018.

Here's what we know about Amazon's foray into healthcare
 
lane one said:
Does anyone think we're giving Amazon a little too much credit here? Sure, they've killed entire sectors of retail but pharmacy is a little more complex than their typical transactions. The price is set by PBMs (assuming insurance not cash pay), so their usual tactic of undercutting price to grow revenue can't be applied. Operate more efficiently to expand profit margin? Possibly, but CVS/WAGS aren't exactly overstaffed. Not sure there's much fat left to trim.

I'm just not sure this news was worthy of 11 billion loss in retail pharmacy market cap.
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I actually agree. I just like watching everyone flip out. How is Amazon going to get you that Amoxicillin you need right now? It's 12:01AM...is Amazon going to get you that Norco with a fill by date of today in 15 minutes or less? Nope. People can't stand mail order as is. Amazon is entering a world of hellish red tape they are underestimating. It takes swamp creatures like Larry Merlo to navigate this thing. Not a bunch of semper fi borg men.

I guess we'll see.
 
Because Amazon focuses more on delivery model, any thoughts on this excluding them from advancing into an urgent care or hospital direction?
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I actually agree. I just like watching everyone flip out. How is Amazon going to get you that Amoxicillin you need right now? It's 12:01AM...is Amazon going to get you that Norco with a fill by date of today in 15 minutes or less? Nope. People can't stand mail order as is. Amazon is entering a world of hellish red tape they are underestimating. It takes swamp creatures like Larry Merlo to navigate this thing. Not a bunch of semper fi borg men.

I guess we'll see.
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I wonder if they will incorporate pharmacies in whole foods locations. Pharmacy mail order as it stands is not well received by many customers, but I think that Amazon can change this. I would be worried if I worked retail, the major retailers don't need any competition let alone a behemoth like Amazon.
 
mnoble said:
I've transferred about 75 rxs to pill pack (3 patients with large script counts). All three transferred back after the first month. I don't know the specifics but they were all unhappy. Anyone heard their customers are happy with pill packs service?
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Pillpack would put us all out of business if patients cared enough to actually take their meds
 
johnpharm01 said:
I wonder if they will incorporate pharmacies in whole foods locations. Pharmacy mail order as it stands is not well received by many customers, but I think that Amazon can change this. I would be worried if I worked retail, the major retailers don't need any competition let alone a behemoth like Amazon.
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The minute Whole foods opens a pharmacy I'm there.

Dye my hair rainbow pink, gauge my ears, whatever
 
Maybe, they can give a tablet on every delivery Amazon Prime now guys to remotely consult on medications, patients will get their meds in 2 hours. They will expand first to major cities building more pillpack facilities in a yr or two to accommodate this. Oh, no, what did I just do?
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I actually agree. I just like watching everyone flip out. How is Amazon going to get you that Amoxicillin you need right now? It's 12:01AM...is Amazon going to get you that Norco with a fill by date of today in 15 minutes or less? Nope. People can't stand mail order as is. Amazon is entering a world of hellish red tape they are underestimating. It takes swamp creatures like Larry Merlo to navigate this thing. Not a bunch of semper fi borg men.

I guess we'll see.
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Without realizing, you just demonstrated the reason why we are not over-reacting and why this represents the death of brick and mortar retail. An emergency script for pain or antibiotic is no problem. Amazon will just advertise and tell their customers to go to local pharmacy for emergency medications. Anything next day go through us for more convenience. How will retail survive from filling only amoxicillin and norco? Amazon will cleverly use retail chains against themselves by causing a slow death.
 
Patients have been offered a lot of savings to use mail order. Yet, most choose to not use it. You need to remember people are lazy. To properly use mail order, planning is required.

Anyway, Amazon can't plan it normal games. You can't link it to Prime. They will actually have to disenroll all Medicare, Medicaid, etc people from Prime. They do not determine cost. This will be seen as a mail order pharmacy and so, insurance contracts may not be possible.
 
The question you need to ask is....can amazon use technology to change the pharmacy game? If they can, then they will win. If technology is not effective at changing human behaviors, then amazon will not take over the industry.


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I'm glad I made the switch from retail to hospital. I still work part time retail 20 hours a week for cash, but I am happy knowing that I have a secure, stable government job with a pension. I am looking forward to Amazon disrupting retail pharmacy. I used to hate Amazon because I saw what it was doing to CVS (I was a CVS shareholder for 10 years), but after I realized CVS what doing jack s*** for years when they had plenty of money, I sold all my CVS, watched it tumble down, bought Amazon, and made up all my losses and then double my investment with Amazon. Amazon is great (but overpriced when they sell items). I can't wait to see what they have planned to disrupt the health care industry. Health care in America is way overpriced, too expensive, and it's not affordable.
 
BMBiology said:
The question you need to ask is....can amazon use technology to change the pharmacy game? If they can, then they will win. If technology is not effective at changing human behaviors, then amazon will not take over the industry.
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Imagine a Farmville or candy crush style game where you score points by taking your dose on time?
Adherence would go through the roof.

Take your crestor on time for 3 months straight?
Get a 10% off coupon to McDonalds.

The problem is that adherence and our healthcare system is designed by people outside of the IQ range of the average American.

If they start thinking like unintelligent degenerates they might get somewhere
 
Do we think amazon will keep the fleet of sales agents for pillpack that cold call for patient recruitment? Doesn’t seem very amazon to me but idk...
 
Lnsean said:
Get your knee pads ready...1-day shipping on amazon as well.

Amazon to acquire online pharmacy PillPack
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Come on this stuff is obvious. CVS's stock is down 42.8% in JUST THREE YEARS. All the smart money and investors knows what is going to happen. I for one welcome our new Amazon overlords. I'm a huge fan of Jeff Bezos and if i would have kept my amazon stock I would be very wealthy. Imagine in a perfect Bezos world: instead of having a few pharamcists working full time for extremely high 100,000 USD + wages we will now have EVERY pharmacist having a job, even a new grads! no more store floating or joblessness. Everyone will now work parttime, maybe 15 hours a week and at a much lower rate. This could be seen as bad by some but I accept it and welcome it. Bezo will solve the great pharmacist over saturation by right sizing the pharmacy industry.

Hopefully Bezo will eventual open a Amazon (TM) Pharmacy school where you can attend if you agree to work for AMazon for the first 5 years of your career. There will also be FREE prime for all employees. So yes you might be taking a 30 USD an hour pay cut might hurt but you will have FREE prime which means two day shipping in most parts of the US along with access to prime Originals, Movies, Shows, Music, Reading, Deals of the Day, Shop Best Sellers, Award winning shows and amazing customer reviews to make up for the pay cut.

I am excited and am getting my resume ready to email to amazon's HR department telling them I am ready to be one of the first pharmacists they hire to help usher in this new, different pharmacy future.
Jeff-Bezos-in-a-pile-of-books-590317.jpg
 
Modest_anteater said:
I am excited and am getting my resume ready to email to amazon's HR department telling them I am ready to be one of the first pharmacists they hire to help usher in this new, different pharmacy future.
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LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they’re probably gunna need like one or two dude. They’re gunna hire more techs than pharmacists.



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Modest_anteater said:
Come on this stuff is obvious. CVS's stock is down 42.8% in JUST THREE YEARS. All the smart money and investors knows what is going to happen. I for one welcome our new Amazon overlords. I'm a huge fan of Jeff Bezos and if i would have kept my amazon stock I would be very wealthy. Imagine in a perfect Bezos world: instead of having a few pharamcists working full time for extremely high 100,000 USD + wages we will now have EVERY pharmacist having a job, even a new grads! no more store floating or joblessness. Everyone will now work parttime, maybe 15 hours a week and at a much lower rate. This could be seen as bad by some but I accept it and welcome it. Bezo will solve the great pharmacist over saturation by right sizing the pharmacy industry.

Hopefully Bezo will eventual open a Amazon (TM) Pharmacy school where you can attend if you agree to work for AMazon for the first 5 years of your career. There will also be FREE prime for all employees. So yes you might be taking a 30 USD an hour pay cut might hurt but you will have FREE prime which means two day shipping in most parts of the US along with access to prime Originals, Movies, Shows, Music, Reading, Deals of the Day, Shop Best Sellers, Award winning shows and amazing customer reviews to make up for the pay cut.

I am excited and am getting my resume ready to email to amazon's HR department telling them I am ready to be one of the first pharmacists they hire to help usher in this new, different pharmacy future.
View attachment 236412
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I, too, welcome our Amazon overlords...at least I'll get to see in bottles while I work.
 
Its just a matter of time until CVS and Walgs start putting one pharmacist on the monitor screen to run 4-5 pharmacies all at once with a set up that looks like Batmans security system. With that said, I would gladly jump ship and work for Amazon if it came to that.
 
AlPacino said:
Its just a matter of time until CVS and Walgs start putting one pharmacist on the monitor screen to run 4-5 pharmacies all at once with a set up that looks like Batmans security system. With that said, I would gladly jump ship and work for Amazon if it came to that.
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Lnsean said:
I, too, welcome our Amazon overlords...at least I'll get to see in bottles while I work.
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Amazon is the future.

NewGOD1.jpg
 
I'm loving this news because it gives us an excuse to cut salaries I already have a new grad doing MTM work and we're hiring for $42 an hour. Doesn't make sense to pay a pharmacist more than $50 an hour when you really think about it
 
BenJammin said:
I'm loving this news because it gives us an excuse to cut salaries I already have a new grad doing MTM work and we're hiring for $42 an hour. Doesn't make sense to pay a pharmacist more than $50 an hour when you really think about it
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Unless you have specialized training. Thats a problem for current practicing rph when these new grads desperate for any job outside retail are willing to take a paycut. They have no choice bc when you leave grad school with 100k+ you will take the first job that comes your way.

Also I dont think the big retail companies will directly cut salaries but will find other ways to decrease cost. My guess is you will see decrease hours from high paid rph, less vacation/pto, etc.
 
Modest_anteater said:
Come on this stuff is obvious. CVS's stock is down 42.8% in JUST THREE YEARS. All the smart money and investors knows what is going to happen. I for one welcome our new Amazon overlords. I'm a huge fan of Jeff Bezos and if i would have kept my amazon stock I would be very wealthy. Imagine in a perfect Bezos world: instead of having a few pharamcists working full time for extremely high 100,000 USD + wages we will now have EVERY pharmacist having a job, even a new grads! no more store floating or joblessness. Everyone will now work parttime, maybe 15 hours a week and at a much lower rate. This could be seen as bad by some but I accept it and welcome it. Bezo will solve the great pharmacist over saturation by right sizing the pharmacy industry.

Hopefully Bezo will eventual open a Amazon (TM) Pharmacy school where you can attend if you agree to work for AMazon for the first 5 years of your career. There will also be FREE prime for all employees. So yes you might be taking a 30 USD an hour pay cut might hurt but you will have FREE prime which means two day shipping in most parts of the US along with access to prime Originals, Movies, Shows, Music, Reading, Deals of the Day, Shop Best Sellers, Award winning shows and amazing customer reviews to make up for the pay cut.

I am excited and am getting my resume ready to email to amazon's HR department telling them I am ready to be one of the first pharmacists they hire to help usher in this new, different pharmacy future.
View attachment 236412
Click to expand...
The amount of effort you put into trolling is truly remarkable. :bow:
 
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