March 17--Walgreens has partnered with UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx pharmacy business to allow members to fill their 90-day prescriptions at their nearest Walgreens pharmacy, instead of waiting for them in the mail.
Typically, it's more expensive for patients to pick up their prescriptions directly from a commercial pharmacy as opposed to using their drug provider's prescription home-delivery service.
The new option will be available beginning Jan. 1, 2017, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday. The plan aims to provide better access and cost management while helping to improve the rates at which members maintain their prescriptions, the companies said. There is no additional cost to members for the service.
Pharmacy benefit managers, such as OptumRX and the nation's largest, Express Scripts, run prescription drug coverage for insurers, employers and other big customers. They pay drugstores to process prescriptions for consumers. The deal allows Walgreens to do more volume in prescription sales and makes filling prescriptions easier and economical for OptumRX members.
"OptumRx's differentiated pharmacy care services model creating smarter health care connections will be a strong fit with the more than 27,000 Walgreens pharmacists who interact with and support millions of patients on a daily basis," Alex Gourlay, president of Deerfield-based Walgreens, said in a statement. "Together, we will build upon our complementary capabilities and shared vision to offer this new pharmacy solution delivering true value to the customers that we serve."
crshropshire@tribpub.com
