DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens, in partnership with DoorDash and Uber, today announced free, Same Day Rx Delivery of medications for the prevention and treatment of HIV. This service is available to eligible patients within 15 miles of thousands of participating Walgreens retail pharmacies nationwide.
“While most of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Walgreens pharmacy, transportation remains a critical barrier to accessing healthcare,” said Kevin Ban, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Walgreens. “With more than half of Walgreens stores located in socially vulnerable or underserved communities, we can help make HIV prevention and treatment options more accessible, convenient and equitable across our communities.”
This initiative is the latest offering in an ongoing collaboration between Walgreens, DoorDash and Uber. In December 2022, following the companies’ response to the White House COVID-19 call to action, the companies launched free Paxlovid delivery services aimed at increasing access to COVID-19 treatment, with a focus on reaching those in socially vulnerable or medically underserved areas.
Offering free, Same Day Rx Delivery of HIV medications supports the White House’s updated National HIV/AIDS strategy for a more coordinated, re-energized national response to HIV. The strategy’s targets include a 75% reduction in new HIV infections by 2025 and a 90% reduction by 2030. To realize these targets, the strategy focuses on four goals: prevent new HIV infections; improve HIV-related health outcomes of people with HIV; reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities; and achieve integrated, coordinated efforts that address the HIV epidemic.
“Local delivery has broadened access for communities across the U.S. DoorDash is proud to partner with Walgreens to power the free, same-day delivery of medication to prevent or treat HIV,” said Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, Vice President of Communications & Policy, DoorDash. “Transportation barriers and other challenges can prevent people from accessing the medicine they need. Our partnership with Walgreens helps ensure that people aren’t denied lifesaving medication just because they can’t make it to their local pharmacy.”
“Over one million people in the U.S. have HIV and the disease disproportionately impacts traditionally underserved populations,” said Julia Paige, Head of Global Social Impact at Uber. “By combining Walgreens nationwide network of pharmacies with Uber’s industry-leading technology, our partnership will help reduce transportation and access barriers so that those who need it most can get their prescription delivered right to their door at no cost to them.”
People with HIV who take HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) as prescribed, and get and keep an undetectable viral load—a very low level of HIV in the blood—can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.i And for people who do not have HIV but are at risk of getting HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective tool for preventing HIV.i
How to register for free, Same Day Rx Delivery
Eligible patients must have a prescription for antiretroviral medication or PrEP from a healthcare provider. After the pharmacy has filled the prescription and before it gets picked up, individuals can go online to choose Same Day Rx Delivery by visiting Walgreens.com/PrescriptionDelivery, the Walgreens app or by calling their store.*
Walgreens commitment to communities impacted by HIV and AIDS
Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 40 years ago, Walgreens has supported those impacted by HIV/AIDS with various national and local initiatives, including, but not limited to:
- Combining strengths to end the epidemic: Recently, Walgreens became a founding member of the U.S. Business Action to End HIV, a coalition of businesses seeking to scale up key HIV prevention and treatment strategies to help end the epidemic by 2030.
- The first-of-its-kind specialty pharmacy: In 1997, Walgreens opened a first-of-its-kind HIV specialty pharmacy. Today, Walgreens has more than 300 specialty pharmacies across the country and many of them offer specialized services for HIV and PrEP.
- Addressing the unique needs of HIV patients: Thousands of Walgreens specialty and retail pharmacists have undergone in-depth training around HIV treatment and prevention.
- Expanding access to HIV testing and information: Since 2011, Walgreens has worked with Greater Than HIV, a public information initiative of the Kaiser Family Foundation, and hundreds of community organizations to offer nearly 77,000 accessible, free and confidential HIV tests on National HIV Testing Day.
*To use Same Day Rx Delivery, it is recommended you are opted into Prescription Status Alerts. The Same Day Rx Delivery option will be available if the prescription is ready and it is before that store's cutoff time for the day. Certain health plans do not cover or participate in Rx Delivery. Check with your health plan for further details. Same Day Rx Delivery is available on eligible prescriptions only. Most prescription orders are available to be delivered to the patient's home on the same day. Orders must be received by 4 p.m. to be eligible for Same Day Rx Delivery. Please note while most prescriptions are expected to be delivered same day, some deliveries may not be eligible for delivery due to prescription type, delivery address, holidays, weather or other delivery constraints. Age-restricted items are not eligible for delivery. Other exclusions may apply. For details, visit our Help Center.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities. WBA’s purpose is to create more joyful lives through better health. Operating nearly 9,000 retail locations across America, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Walgreens is proud to be a neighborhood health destination serving nearly 10 million customers each day. Walgreens pharmacists play a critical role in the U.S. healthcare system by providing a wide range of pharmacy and healthcare services, including those that drive equitable access to care for the nation’s medically underserved populations. To best meet the needs of customers and patients, Walgreens offers a true omnichannel experience, with fully integrated physical and digital platforms supported by the latest technology to deliver high-quality products and services in communities nationwide.
About DoorDash
DoorDash (NYSE: DASH) is a technology company that connects consumers with their favorite local businesses in 27 countries across the globe. Founded in 2013, DoorDash builds products and services to help businesses innovate, grow, and reach more customers. DoorDash is building infrastructure for local commerce, enabling merchants to thrive in the convenience economy, giving consumers access to more of their communities, and providing work that empowers. With DoorDash, there is a neighborhood of good in every order.
About Uber
Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 37 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
i Ready, Set, PrEP. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/ending-the-hiv-epidemic/prep-program. Accessed Feb. 17, 2023.
