Amazon expands same-day prescription drug delivery to NYC, LA

Amazon.com Inc. is expanding same-day delivery of prescription medication to New York City and the greater Los Angeles area, allowing customers to receive drugs for the flu, diabetes and other conditions within hours.

The Seattle-based company, via its Amazon Pharmacy division, is using new small-format facilities stocked with common medicines in order to accelerate deliveries. At a site in Brooklyn, a pharmacist and a fulfillment team will be able to process an order “within a matter of minutes,” according to a statement.

Amazon already offers same-day delivery in Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Phoenix and Seattle, and has plans to expand to more than a dozen cities in the US by the end of 2024. Customers in College Station, Texas, can get their medications delivered in under an hour via drone, the company said.

Amazon also said it is using generative artificial intelligence and machine learning in the delivery service, with AI models undertaking a series of fact-checking tasks to help pharmacists fill prescriptions more quickly.