Walgreens: 1M subscribe to prescription text alerts

 

After just four months of launching “Refill by Scan,” Walgreens have found that users of its smartphone application have embraced the feature which enables them to use the camera on their phone to scan the barcode printed on a prescription label to order a refill. Walgreens said half of all refill orders originating from a mobile device are now from Refill by Scan. The feature has been available to users of Walgreens’ iPhone and Android apps since November 2010.
Walgreens also announced that more than 1 million people have subscribed to its prescription text alert service, which informs customers when a prescription is ready for pickup. That service was launched in March 2010.
“Our customers have enthusiastically adopted our mobile applications and we’re continuing to bring innovative technology to our online and mobile platforms to enhance the customer experience,” Sona Chawla, Walgreens President of E-commerce, stated in the company release. “With refill by scan, prescription text alerts, unique photo features and the ability to shop or browse products all available on a mobile device, we’re adding new levels of choice, control and convenience for our rapidly-growing numbers of mobile customers.”
Walgreens plans to launch a new advertising campaign this week to promote Refill by Scan and its other mobile services.
Scanning barcodes via smartphone cameras have other use cases in mobile health. Last year we profiled a startup called ScanAvert, which offers an app that allows users to scan barcodes on various food items to see whether those foods contain ingredients they are allergic to, contain ingredients that might interact with their drug regimen and more.

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