Uber Can Now Deliver Your Prescriptions

It’s getting easier to have prescriptions delivered to your doorstep: Uber just announced a partnership with pharmacy delivery service NimbleRx.

NimbleRx helps independent pharmacies offer online delivery options to patients. According to an August 20 press release from Uber, their partnership allows NimbleRx to give customers safe, contactless prescription deliveries in Seattle, Washington and Dallas, Texas. People living in those areas can currently take advantage of the service.

“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,” Talha Sattar, founder and CEO of NimbleRx, said in the press release. “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.”

The NimbleRx partnership is specifically with Uber Health, a HIPAA-secure service that allows people in the healthcare industry to request non-emergency medical transportation for patients and to improve access to care for vulnerable people. Adding prescription delivery expands Uber Health’s offerings even more.

A service like this is needed right now, Jamie Alan, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, tells Verywell. “This is an amazing idea, particularly in light of recent events: COVID-19 and the post office debacle,” she says. While anyone can benefit from the service, Alan says it may particularly help elderly patients, people with young children, and immunocompromised patients.

“Patients are waiting days—sometimes weeks—for their medications because many of the [USPS] sorting machines are disabled,” she says.

The new service is also a good way to get refrigerated medications to patients, which Alan says are much more difficult to send through the mail.

How It Works

To use the service, you’ll need to sign up for NimbleRx online. From there, you’ll select your local pharmacy and prescription. At checkout, simply choose Uber as your delivery option.

As of now, NimbleRx offers next-day delivery to 70% of the population of the United States, and same-day delivery to 30%, per the Associated Press. But the pandemic has increased demand, and the new partnership is working to better meet it.

“The combination of Nimble’s network of pharmacy partners and Uber’s logistics expertise and scale made this partnership a great fit,” Misha Rindisbacher, a spokesperson for NimbleRx, tells Verywell. “Together we’re able to provide timely and reliable prescription deliveries in Seattle and Dallas for now.”

Pricing varies based on several factors, including your location, time, and how fast you want your prescription, Rindisbacher says.

Is This Available Anywhere Else?

Right now, no, but that’s expected to change soon. While the partnership is currently limited to Seattle and Dallas, there are plans to expand to more regions in the coming months, Rindisbacher says. As of now, NimbleRx and Uber Health have completed more than 15,000 deliveries together.

NimbleRx currently operates in 34 states—mostly without Uber’s help. If you’re interested in having your prescriptions delivered and you live outside of Seattle and Dallas, you can still sign up.

While there is an obvious need for this service now, Alan expects it to continue in a post-pandemic world. “There is always still flu season where people who test positive for flu need meds, but can't be out and about,” she says. "People are getting used to the idea of delivery services like this, and they will use them for convenience even after the pandemic."