My prescription for Amazon Pharmacy: Proceed with warning

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Like many individuals, I’ve been annoyed with conventional pharmacies: lengthy strains, complicated insurance coverage denials and countless back-and-forth with employees who appear as worn down as the shoppers. So after I noticed that my insurance coverage was listed as “accepted” on Amazon Pharmacy’s web site, I felt hopeful. Maybe this was the answer. Maybe this was the fashionable, streamlined method to prescriptions that will lastly ease the burden.

I’ll admit, I used to be hesitant. Amazon had lately pulled again on its variety, fairness and inclusion initiatives, and that call gave me pause. But what intrigued me was the promise of comfort: computerized refills delivered to my door, 24/7 on-line customer support and pre-sorted capsule packs that arrive organized by day and time. For somebody juggling a number of drugs, that form of system may have been a game-changer. So, regardless of my hesitation, I transferred all of my prescriptions to Amazon.

That’s when the frustration started.

After spending time establishing my account and notifying all of my prescribers to maneuver every part over, I went to put my first order — solely to be instructed my insurance coverage really wasn’t contracted with Amazon. The phrase “accepted,” it seems, merely meant that Amazon’s system may retailer my insurance coverage data, however not that my plan was usable there. It was a bait-and-switch in plain sight.

I turned to their on-line chat for assist. Over the course of greater than an hour, I repeated my story to a few completely different representatives. Each time, I began from scratch: explaining how I had checked protection, moved my prescriptions and now discovered myself unable to refill them. I requested them to ahead the prescriptions to Walgreens or one other pharmacy and was replied to with unreasonable questions just like the title of the pharmacist on obligation.

The responses have been well mannered however empty. Agents acknowledged that the wording on the web site was “confusing,” however nobody may repair the issue or inform me it will be handed on to the right individuals. Instead, the chat ended abruptly, leaving me with no decision and no drugs in hand.