Amazon Pharmacy announced it expanded its same-day medication-delivery offerings to residents of New York City and the greater Los Angeles area, providing patients with quick access to prescription medicines for diabetes, flu, high blood pressure and other common conditions. 

The company said it can provide its same-day delivery services thanks to assembling small facilities that hold thousands of medications near the major metropolitan areas. 

Amazon Pharmacy said its on-site pharmacists will use genAI and machine learning to process and fill medications accurately in minutes. The AI tools will also be used to scan and fact-check handwritten prescriptions or online pharmacy submissions to reduce administrative errors. 

The company said it will use environmentally friendly delivery methods appropriate to the region, such as delivery workers riding eco-friendly bikes in Manhattan and using all-electric vans or other commercial vehicles in Los Angeles. 

Amazon Pharmacy already offers same-day prescription delivery in Phoenix, Austin, Seattle, Indianapolis, Miami and Texas. It said it will expand the service to more than a dozen U.S. cities by the end of the year. 

"AI doesn’t replace the role of the pharmacist; it allows them to operate at the top of their license," Kelvin Downes, Amazon Pharmacy's director of fulfillment, said in a statement. "Rather than doing duplicative work, pharmacists can use the skills they went to school for to deliver better patient experiences."

THE LARGER TREND

Amazon purchased digital pharmacy PillPack in 2018 and launched its digital pharmacy two years later.

In October, Amazon Pharmacy announced the launch of its free drone delivery service for eligible customers in College Station, Texas. The service allows prescription medications to be delivered in 60 minutes or less to a patient's front door. Over 500 medications are available through the service. 

In January, the company announced it would pilot a program with hybrid primary care provider One Medical, which it acquired last year for $3.8 billion. The program would allow One Medical providers to request medication consultations via Amazon Pharmacy for patients with complex medication regimens.

Other companies working to expand access to prescription drugs are Mark Cuban's online discount drug pharmacy dubbed Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC), drug cost and telehealth company GoodRx, and Waltz Health, a digital search engine for prescription pricing and reimbursement.