GoPuff, a snack-delivery service operating in more than 1,000 cities, has reportedly begun to pilot a prescription-delivery option in Philadelphia.

According to Insider's Nancy Luna, the company – which generally delivers convenience-store grocery items and alcohol – is testing out expanding into the pharmacy space.  

Gopuff did not respond to requests for comment from Healthcare IT News.  

WHY IT MATTERS  

Gopuff touts its ultra-fast delivery time and flat fee, allowing for users to quickly order comestibles such as ice cream, chips and beer.  

But as reported by Luna, some users in Philadelphia now have the ability to get prescriptions for birth control, acne and erectile dysfunction delivered as well.  

According to the listed terms and conditions, "Gopuff Pharmacy is a service provided by GB Health, a limited liability company whose directors or officers are listed as Gopuff founders Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola," wrote Luna.  

Users can obtain prescriptions through Gopuff by visiting with medical professionals. The service is enabled by Wheel, a telemedicine staffing and services company.  

"After working at a telemedicine company trying to scale over to a care offering, I quickly realized that if virtual care wanted to realize its full potential, there needed to be a workforce infrastructure to support that, and that is what we are building here at Wheel," said Wheel CEO Michelle Davey in an interview with MobiHealthNews this past October.  

Luna's reporting found that Gopuff has opened its own "state-licensed cash pharmacy." Its team told her the initiative is a very limited pilot. In November 2020, the company brought on Amy Foster, a former CVS pharmacy district manager, to provide consultancy services. According to her LinkedIn, she started full time in March 2021.  

THE LARGER TREND

A growing number of startups are edging into the prescription-delivery space, often focusing on birth control, acne and migraines, as well as HIV prevention medication.   

Amazon, too, has made inroads after acquiring PillPack in 2018.

Many of these companies combine the delivery with a telemedicine element, meaning users can get a prescription and their medications through one service.

ON THE RECORD

"It really is important to take care of [clinicians] and protect them, to also enable them to work in the 21st century and a modern way, [and] to enable them to provide the highest quality of care [in order] to provide access," Wheel's Davey told MobiHealthNews last year.

"So, I believe that by doing that, and really starting with the workforce, we can enable a totally different healthcare system virtually," she continued.

Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Twitter: @kjercich
Email: kjercich@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.