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Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

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Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#301

Post by michaelt »

tiatia123 wrote: post #276
toomanybeersies wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The disadvantage is that there are some leftover pills most of the time. E.g. you need 30 pills and there are only units of 20 available. This is the exact reason why they count pills. You have a prescription for X pills, you get X pills. It's been a while since I've had a prescription filled, but I think that in New Zealand it's the same. Most prescription drugs like opiate painkillers or antibiotics are counted a…

Yes, but is it worth the trouble? Also, you may be able to build robots to dispense pills. But have you seen a European automated pharmacy supplier? Everything is automated. They dispense all the blister packs into a small cart that gets delivered to the pharmacy. In the end it does not matter if you supply a pharmacy with 2-20 medicines or a consumer with 1-10.

  Yes, but is it worth the trouble?
The "schedule II drugs" jeherr mentions as being counted twice are things like cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl. i.e. drugs that could be readily sold onto the black market.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#302

Post by not_kurt_godel »

jeherr wrote: post #293
not_kurt_godel wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Baby steps...in order for that to work there'd have to be some kind of interoperable API standard adopted by all doctors in pharmacies that the system understands (I am assuming there is not). In an ideal world there'd be basically no humans involved as soon as the doctor prescribes, obviously...

What makes you think an ideal world would involve no humans after the doctor writes a prescription? There’s a very good reason we have pharmacists. Doctors can and do make mistakes, and they may not know every medication that a patient is taking. Somebody has to catch these mistakes and potentially lethal interactions. Doctors are typically not experts in medications. Specialists probably know a lot about medications…

Hence why I said "ideal"...

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#303

Post by rrcaptain »

jaytaylor wrote: post #232

What about the environmental impact of the PillPack packaging strategy? http://assets.coolhunting.com/coolhunting/mt_asset_cache/201... (note: above image is of an already mostly empty PP box, they often come stuffed completely full) https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Jz4Xw7Xs-Fxnige1c2qnDlez-c0=... I used PillPack a few years ago, and appreciated the reliable auto-refill (in fact their behavior was borderline insanely…

How many pills were you taking daily? The plastic waste of 4-5 pill bottles a month is quite large. But yes it is wasteful, just like the rest of for-profit healthcare.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#304

Post by dalore »

DenisM wrote: post #246
atourgates wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a consumer adoption standpoint, the only thing standing in Amazon Register's way was a lack of marketing. As a merchant, it was amazing. They offered promotional rate of 1.75%, which is basically impossible to beat for any small business. For context, Square and most "simple pay per swipe" merchant service providers charge 2.75%. If you go out and get a really good deal from a intrchange+ provider, you might be…

My credit card cash back is 2.00%, your 1.75% promotional rate was losing them money.

It's 2.00% but with caveats. Usually max limit per year or such.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#305

Post by jawr »

Cents wrote: post #299
xkjkls wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure their grocery business has changed alot in the last 10 years, and will probably change even more with the integration of Whole Foods.

Groceries online make me very happy. I'm a convert. Carts queues and parking are anachronisms. There won't be wide adoption until the customer gets a perfect order with no substitutions or blemishes every time. The psychology of perceived loss at not getting EXACTLY what was ordered is too great. Until then millions of disappointed people will discourage others.

Carts queues and parking still happen, they're just being hidden from you.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#306

Post by colechristensen »

atourgates wrote: post #129
simonsarris wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the time. They tried to make a move into retail registers to compete with Square, and failed. They shuttered Amazon register in 2015: https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/amazon-shutting-do... They tried to take on Etsy with Amazon Handmade which bombed Etsy stock, but Handmade has gone pretty much nowhere, except some re-branding this year. People just forget Amazon's failed ventures, even fairly high profi…

From a consumer adoption standpoint, the only thing standing in Amazon Register's way was a lack of marketing. As a merchant, it was amazing. They offered promotional rate of 1.75%, which is basically impossible to beat for any small business. For context, Square and most "simple pay per swipe" merchant service providers charge 2.75%. If you go out and get a really good deal from a intrchange+ provider, you might be…

Was it amazing because of the rate or for other reasons?

The rate seems like it was just imaginary. Their promotion was that Amazon was willing to lose a significant amount of money to gain market share.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#307

Post by beagle3 »

CGamesPlay wrote: post #240
beagle3 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IANAL but I suspect it is actually legal for Amazon to short CVS+Walgreen in this case: Don't "inside information" trading laws apply only to the specific company about which information is available?

Doesn't the person on the other end of the short sue Amazon for having insider information material to the value of CVS+Walgreens? Or if not "insider trading", then "market manipulation"?

Insider information is not well defined, but I don't believe that it covers this case (then again, IANAL).

"Market manipulation" is dissemination of false information or demand with the express permission of profiting. But there was no false information or demand here.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#308

Post by finnthehuman »

zavi wrote: post #178
finnthehuman wrote: post #168

Large parts of PillPack were being mismanaged into the ground, I trust Amazon can fix them but at the same time my first reaction to the news was to text my non-programmer-or-management friends there about when they’re quitting. If Amazon’s warehouses or Whole Foods are any indication of how they’ll approach the unavoidable human work involved at a pharmacy, I have serious doubts about the quality of service. And pil…

What unavoidable human work at pharmacy? Authenticate patients and ship them prescriptions. Even CVS is doing it now.

You know a pharmacy does more to fill a prescription than just count out pills on a slip of paper, right?

How many pharmacists and pharm techs can be automated away by amazon that pillpack hasn’t already? And this is just a rhetorical question, neither of us are really qualified to address all the tasks to be done, nor current automation levels.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#309

Post by collinmanderson »

dalore wrote: post #304
DenisM wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My credit card cash back is 2.00%, your 1.75% promotional rate was losing them money.

It's 2.00% but with caveats. Usually max limit per year or such.

I have 2% through Citi Double Cash (and yes, it really is 2%, not 1.98%). No caps at all.

Re: Amazon buys PillPack, an online pharmacy, for just under $1B

#310

Post by ceejayoz »

Merad wrote: post #282
ceejayoz wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Via climate controlled aircraft, distribution facilities, and relatively well ventilated delivery trucks? No step in the retail pharmacy supply chain involves routinely putting it in a small black box sitting out in the sun until you get home from work in the evening.

I’d be utterly shocked if you’re correct. Controlled substances most likely do get some kind of kind of courier delivery, but there’s no reason to do it for anything else. If it needs to stay cold you slap in an insulated box with ice packs. I’ve gotten deliveries before from Blue Apron and Omaha Steaks. Believe me, they have no problem keeping things cold.

You seem to think I'm describing some special courier service. I'm not. I'm describing the standard USPS/UPS/FedEx experience all packages get, which is indeed how most of the stuff a retail pharmacy gets will be shipped.

The parent's concern with direct-to-home delivery is valid - the inside of an in-sun mailbox on a 90 degree day is going to well exceed safe thresholds for many medications in a way the rest of the shipping chain won't.

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