The Best Prescription Delivery Apps

Aging adults often have an increased need for daily maintenance prescriptions or frequently taken medications for a sudden illness or temporary condition. The more prescriptions seniors have, the more difficult it is for them to keep up with when to take each one and refill recurring prescriptions. Frequent pharmacy trips can also pose problems, especially for seniors with mobility issues and/or who don’t drive anymore. Prescription delivery apps have quickly gained in popularity because they combat these issues.

Prescription delivery services provide seniors with easier access to necessary medications and the convenience of delivering them right to their door. Getting prescriptions without leaving home and standing in long pharmacy lines encourage seniors to keep their medicines filled. Delivery services that combine multiple pills in packets with easy-to-follow instructions on when to take them help ensure seniors follow their doctor’s prescribed schedule. Seniors who take all their prescriptions every time they’re supposed to have healthier outcomes. Signing up for auto-refill services also ensures seniors receive their medications on an appropriate schedule, and they never have to remember to refill them.

For all these reasons and more, health insurance plans often encourage their members to use home delivery for their maintenance medications. The increasing popularity of prescription delivery services has led various companies to create apps to make the delivery process as easy as possible. Simplicity can be essential for older prescribers who might have difficulties navigating complicated technology. To ensure online pharmacies provide legitimate services, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) created a database of safe pharmacy websites. 

This article provides an overview of four top-rated pharmacy delivery apps, including what makes them stand out. It also lists some pros and cons for each app to help you make a more informed decision for your prescription delivery needs.

CVS SimpleDose

SimpleDose may be ideal for seniors who already use and like CVS pharmacies. It manages deliveries and keeps pills organized by presorting multiple prescriptions and placing individual pills together in dose-ready packages marked when to take them. It’s quicker and easier than shuffling through numerous prescription bottles, trying to remember which drugs to take and when. Each SimpleDose delivery contains a 30-day supply of each drug without any additional charges above the medication costs. Seniors who also take over-the-counter medicines daily can request SimpleDose to include these in their bundled packs with a prescription from their doctor. Consumers may also get a single prescription delivered locally if they live within a 50-mile radius of a brick-and-mortar CVS.

Pros and Cons of CVS SimpleDose

SimpleDose uses simple presorted packs to keep seniors organized and offers monthly auto-refill, so they don’t forget to reorder and run out of vital medications. The service cannot pack all medications in SimpleDose packs. Some consumers may still have to contend with extra bottles. CVS currently only has pharmacies in 43 states.

Amazon Pharmacy

Amazon Pharmacy is ideal for consumers with an Amazon Prime membership because they get additional perks. Seniors may not realize the online retail giant also has an NABP-accredited digital pharmacy with pharmacists on staff 24/7 to answer their questions. Amazon Pharmacy serves prescribers in all 50 states and accepts most insurance plans. Seniors without insurance may pay as little as $1 for select medications. Consumers with a Prime membership receive the Prime Prescription Savings Benefit at no additional cost. They also receive free two-day delivery with deliveries made right to their door. For those needing multiple prescriptions bundled into daily packs, Amazon acquired PillPack in June 2018 to provide this service. 

Pros and Cons of Amazon Pharmacy

Amazon Pharmacy boasts upfront pricing and accepts most insurance plans. Although it does offer free two-day shipping, clients must have a Prime membership to get this perk. Prescribers wanting a six-month supply of eligible medications must pay for it themselves, not through their insurance. 

Capsule Pharmacy

Capsule Pharmacy offers same-day delivery and smart refills, so seniors never miss a medication dose. It transfers prescribers’ current prescriptions to begin the service. Clients request their doctors to send any new prescriptions directly to Capsule to keep the service current. Capsule coordinates with doctors and insurance providers, ensuring budget-conscious clients get the best price. Seniors with questions can talk to a Capsule pharmacist by phone, text, email or chat during business hours. Capsule’s prescription and delivery services are free, and copays stay the same because it accepts all major insurance plans.

Pros and Cons of Capsule Pharmacy

Capsule clients benefit from its price transparency, same-day deliveries and automatic refills. The major drawback of Capsule is it’s not available everywhere yet. The prescription delivery service is currently available in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Tampa, Twin Cities and Washington, D.C.

Express Scripts Pharmacy

The specially trained pharmacists at Express Scripts Pharmacy make it easy for seniors to manage their prescriptions online and offer customer support 24/7. Seniors receive simple, stress-free ordering with accurate prescriptions delivered to their door in weather-resistant, tamper-evident packaging. It ships hot- or cold-sensitive medications in temperature-controlled packaging. Express Scripts doesn’t charge for standard delivery and offers automatic refills for eligible medications. Once it has the client’s prescriptions, Express Scripts takes care of everything, including confirming their prescriptions are safe and effective before shipment.

Pros and Cons of Express Scripts Pharmacy

Express Scripts Pharmacy offers automatic refills to ensure seniors never miss a prescription. It only works with major shipping carriers for reliable delivery, and it never charges for standard shipping. Seniors who need their medications quickly pay extra for two-day or next-day shipping. Express Scripts currently limits its prescription delivery service to clients who already have its pharmacy benefits. However, it will be inviting non-members in the future.

What To Look For in a Prescription Delivery App

It’s completely legal to receive medications from an online pharmacy. However, not all online pharmacies follow legal guidelines. It can be tricky to know whether you’re buying from a legitimate business tied to a legitimate pharmacy. To keep yourself and your loved ones safe when choosing an online pharmacy with or without a prescription delivery app, a few things to look for include: 

• Ensuring it’s licensed by regulators in the pharmacy’s and the patient’s jurisdictions
• Verifying the online pharmacy is appropriately licensed through the NABP’s Pharmacy Verified Websites Program
• Checking the pharmacy against NABP’s database of safe pharmacy websites
• Ensuring it requires a doctor’s prescription and only accepts valid prescriptions
• Confirming it provides readily accessible contact information for prescriber inquiries
• Asking for proof they have a state-licensed pharmacist answering prescriber questions 

Another major red flag is if an online pharmacy allows you to call in prescriptions for yourself without requiring proof you have a doctor’s prescription. Furthermore, it’s unsafe and illegal for a pharmacy to have a doctor write prescriptions for you without performing an exam. The NABP states that 89% of the sites listed on its Not Recommended list don’t require valid prescriptions, and 56% issued prescriptions after only completing an online consultation or questionnaire without an exam.