Walmart joins same-day pharmacy delivery race; will this help pharmacy deserts?
The competition to deliver prescription medications to your doorstep is heating up.
Walmart announced this week that it would begin offering same-day pharmacy delivery service in six states and that the service would be available in 49 states by the end of January.
The national retailer said it now offers same-day pharmacy delivery in Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Delivery is available for both new prescriptions and medication refills, and orders can be combined with general merchandise, the retailer said.
Walmart pharmacy can reach 85% of U.S. households
Walmart officials said in a recent survey that more than half, or 55%, of Walmart customers wanted to have their prescriptions delivered along with their groceries and other items in a single order. With the retailer's footprint of 4,600 stores across the U.S., delivery is possible to more than 85% of households, the retailer said.
"Our extensive footprint across the nation combined with our deep expertise in pharmacy uniquely positions us to make a profound impact in the communities we serve," Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy at Walmart U.S., said in a news release. “We understand that health care is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s hyper-local. Each community has unique needs. This new offering allows us to continue serving customers while also giving more time back to our pharmacies for high-touch health services.”
How will Walmart same-day pharmacy delivery work?
Walmart+ members will receive free delivery on pharmacy items. Non-Walmart+ members will pay a delivery charge of $9.95. Customers will have a choice to schedule their same-day dropoff within certain delivery windows or choose on-demand delivery within three hours or express delivery in as little as 30 minutes, a Walmart spokesperson confirmed.
Amazon pharmacy also expanding
Walmart's announcement comes on the heels of Amazon also saying it was expanding its same-day delivery service for prescriptions.
Amazon said expansion of its national pharmacy network next year would allow it to reach nearly half of U.S. residents for same-day delivery of medications.
National retailers such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid also offer same-day prescription deliveries within a certain radius of their stores.
What is a pharmacy desert?
The news of expanded delivery services for prescriptions comes as national chains are also shuttering more retail pharmacies. Retailers – including national chains and independent stores – are having a hard time making money under insurers' pharmacy benefit manager model, which determines where consumers can go for their prescriptions and how much the pharmacy will be paid.
Recently, Walgreens announced it would shutter 1,200 underperforming stores and pharmacies as part of a turnaround. Rite Aid, another national pharmacy chain, also has been shuttering stores. CVS earlier this year closed some of its pharmacies inside Target stores and recently said it would lay off 3,000 mostly corporate positions.
The closures have created more areas throughout the country designated as pharmacy deserts, which are defined as communities without an open pharmacy within 10 miles, said Dr. Timothy Pawlik, chair of surgery at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
What is a pharmacy desert? More pharmacy closures leave consumers in pharmacy deserts without access to medications
Pharmacy delivery can help some, but not all consumers
Mail order and pharmacy delivery services can help some customers, but not all, said Pawlik. Many consumers utilize mail-order pharmacy services or other pharmacy services that deliver medications within days. But that does not help when a medication is needed the same day.
Same-day delivery services for pharmacies "will probably serve a portion of the population, but not the entire population," said Pawlik, who with a team of researchers studied pharmacy deserts and published an article in August in the American Medical Association journal JAMA.
In the article, which looked at data through 2020, nearly half of U.S. counties, or 46%, had at least one pharmacy desert. While the traditional definition of a pharmacy desert is that there is no option within 10 miles, Pawlik said, it is also possible for urban areas to have a pharmacy desert if the closest location requires a 10-block walk and consumers do not have adequate access to transportation to get to the store.
Many of the areas without access to a pharmacy also lack access to general medical care, he said.
In an interview with Paste BN, Pawlik, who also researches health care delivery systems, said the percentage of pharmacy deserts is larger than what is highlighted in the JAMA report because the data the study used was from 2020, and since then, many more retail pharmacies have closed or been slated to shut down.
In areas where pharmacies are closing, consumers also lose access to pharmacists who can provide information about medications, access to vaccinations and, in some cases, in-store medical clinics, Pawlik said.
Not all consumers comfortable with digital pharmacy orders, delivery
Online pharmacy orders for same-day delivery also may not work for consumers who do not have access to credit or debit cards or digital currency, Pawlik said.
Additionally, some consumers, especially senior citizens, may not be comfortable with technology or have access to it, he said.
Pawlik used his father as an example. His father needs Pawlik's brother to go to his house to sign in for a telehealth visit.
"If left to his own devices, my dad would not be able to order his medications on his own," Pawlik said. "But he could go to a pharmacy because he's done that."
Using an online pharmacy delivery service also assumes there is an open store within an area that would offer delivery, he said.
For instance, both Walmart and CVS officials told Paste BN that their same-day pharmacy delivery services are typically within 10 miles of a store. Walgreens offers same-day delivery within 15 miles of a store. Rite Aid said its same-day pharmacy service varies at stores, but is typically within a five to 10 mile radius. CVS also offers one to two-day delivery within 50 miles of a store.
This story has been updated with new information.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.