If there is one pain point that all retail pharmacies share, it is the inevitable long waits for picking up prescription drugs. Although the move by CVS Health to make a strategic investment in Curbside won’t affect prescription drug wait times anytime soon, its backing of the app developer to speed up the pace of shopping signals that this could fit into its longterm plans.
In a statement, CVS Health executive vice president Helena Foulkes said: “This partnership with Curbside allows CVS Health to offer new and more convenient ways for our customers to shop with us ultimately making it easier for them to enjoy a healthy lifestyle in a way that works best for them.”
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Together, CVS Health and Curbside will launch CVS Express — basically the CVS Pharmacy app that adds Curbside’s technology. Customers can use the app to buy items from their local CVS Pharmacy. When customers drive to the store, the items are delivered to them when they pull up outside. The transaction takes about one hour. CVS Express is available in San Francisco, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta.
The new app is the product of a three-month collaboration in CVS’s digital innovation lab in Boston. The company has been pushing into digital health in a big way. CVS led MyHealthTeams‘ Series B round. The company built a social network of chronic condition-specific communities to help people share the day-to-day experience of living with these diseases. CVS Health has also initiated collaborations with telemedicine companies such as American Well, Doctor on Demand and Teladoc.
Photo: Getty Images/Joe Raedle
