Uber Now Delivers Prescription Drugs In Two Major US Cities

Uber has announced an expansion of its Uber Health service that adds prescription drug deliveries, giving consumers a new way to get their medication without leaving home. This new offering involves Uber Direct, which was introduced back in April, in conjunction with the NimbleRx prescription delivery platform. Uber plans to expand the availability of its medication delivery option into additional markets in the near future.

Drug delivery services aren't new, but they generally involve mailing the prescription to the customer. On-demand delivery of these orders is different, enabling customers to get their medication as soon as it arrives at the pharmacy for pickup. This can be used whenever the customer needs, such as if they're particularly sick and don't want to risk infecting others.

Picking up prescriptions in person can be difficult for some people, such as the elderly who aren't able to drive, which is where these services come in. Uber Health is delivering these prescriptions on-demand in Seattle and Dallas now, the company said in an announcement on Thursday.

This new offering builds upon the food and grocery deliver services that Uber already offers, though those are available in far more markets. Uber Health is HIPAA-secure, according to the company, and the consumer-tier delivery option will expand 'in coming months.'

Nimble Founder and CEO Talha Sattar said of the new partnership:

Now more than ever, it is critical that people get their medications safely and efficiently, and over the last several months we have seen a significant increase in demand for prescription delivery from both consumers and retail pharmacies. Through this partnership with Uber Health, we are able to dramatically increase the availability of on-demand delivery of an essential product like prescriptions, which is leading to a further increase in demand in all markets we are already active in.