Walgreens Developer APIs • Hacker News Board

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#21

Post by superchink » Sat, Aug 23, 2014, 4:08 AM UTC

disposition2 wrote: post #4

brianbreslin wrote: post #2

so the only api function they have that looks remotely interesting to me is the prescriptions one. I don't work in the health-tech space, so are there no pre-existing APIs for submitting prescriptions? how do EMR systems do it now? Maybe there could be an opportunity here for prescription submission + courier/delivery guy API integration to get on demand pickups of meds?

The prescription API is for existing (Walgreen's) prescriptions or transferring a Rx, it doesn't allow you to submit a new Rx, just order refills, etc. I believe AllScripts' E-Prescribe pretty much has the market cornered for non-hospital pharmacies. I would think most hospital EMRs would have an integrated eprescribe for their internal pharmacy orders.

I think you mean Surescripts, rather than AllScripts (EMR vendor).

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#22

Post by jblz » Sat, Aug 23, 2014, 5:46 AM UTC

I got turned away at a Walgreens pharmacy Friday afternoon because their "system was down." The pharmacist said it was affecting "all stores.". Interesting coincidence if it's not related to this roll out.

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#23

Post by smkelly » Sat, Aug 23, 2014, 6:00 AM UTC

disposition2 wrote: post #4

brianbreslin wrote: post #2

so the only api function they have that looks remotely interesting to me is the prescriptions one. I don't work in the health-tech space, so are there no pre-existing APIs for submitting prescriptions? how do EMR systems do it now? Maybe there could be an opportunity here for prescription submission + courier/delivery guy API integration to get on demand pickups of meds?

The prescription API is for existing (Walgreen's) prescriptions or transferring a Rx, it doesn't allow you to submit a new Rx, just order refills, etc. I believe AllScripts' E-Prescribe pretty much has the market cornered for non-hospital pharmacies. I would think most hospital EMRs would have an integrated eprescribe for their internal pharmacy orders.

I was part of an AllScripts deployment in a previous job. It is truly awful, as are their deployment teams that you work with. They actually recommended we put the web, database, app, and other tiers on a single subnet/VLAN. "We can't help you do it any other way, we've not done that."

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#24

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 23, 2014, 6:00 AM UTC

jblz wrote: post #22

I got turned away at a Walgreens pharmacy Friday afternoon because their "system was down." The pharmacist said it was affecting "all stores.". Interesting coincidence if it's not related to this roll out.

[deleted]

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#25

Post by illicium » Sat, Aug 23, 2014, 6:01 AM UTC

jblz wrote: post #22

I got turned away at a Walgreens pharmacy Friday afternoon because their "system was down." The pharmacist said it was affecting "all stores.". Interesting coincidence if it's not related to this roll out.

Unlikely, because Walgreens has had a Developer Portal and external APIs for several years now.

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#26

Post by rnovak » Sun, Aug 24, 2014, 9:19 PM UTC

ZoF wrote: post #20

rnovak wrote: post #9

As both a developer and someone who takes medicine, I'd just like to say: NO I shred my Prescription labels, and now they're basically going to be opened up to the world for some stupid developer to expose because he/she didn't think it through? Apple's location data was secure until 3rd party apps leaked it. No thanks. The convenience is not worth the loss in security/privacy

Read the docs. All they give out is the store location/pickup time for an RX# request, no identification info, no medication info.

If it's implemented correctly. How many top tech companies implement their API's perfectly the first, second, or even hundredth time around? Walgreens isn't a tech company.

As the patient, the person who's information is being stored, I should have the ONLY say so over what happens to that information EVER, and if they don't get that, I have no problem taking my business elsewhere, which it looks like I'll have to do.

Re: Walgreens Developer APIs

#27

Post by joerago » Sun, Aug 24, 2014, 9:59 PM UTC

rnovak wrote: post #26

ZoF wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read the docs. All they give out is the store location/pickup time for an RX# request, no identification info, no medication info.

If it's implemented correctly. How many top tech companies implement their API's perfectly the first, second, or even hundredth time around? Walgreens isn't a tech company. As the patient, the person who's information is being stored, I should have the ONLY say so over what happens to that information EVER, and if they don't get that, I have no problem taking my business elsewhere, which it looks like I'll have to do…

To clarify, our Rx Refill API is "inbound" in nature only. If the patient initiates a refill, one can be completed. This is not an API around "outbound" information from Walgreens systems. Hope that helps to clarify.