Amazon launches same-day prescription delivery in New York and Los Angeles

Amazon now offers prescription medications to customers in the two major U.S. markets on the same day they order.

The e-commerce behemoth announced on Tuesday that it will begin offering same-day delivery of prescription drugs in New York City and the wider Los Angeles area.

The medications are available through Amazon’s online pharmacy service, which began in 2020. Amazon Pharmacy, which emerged from the company’s 2018 acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack, allows customers to obtain prescription prescriptions for home delivery, with free shipping for Prime members.

Amazon has stated that it will use new, smaller facilities equipped with the most popular prescription drugs for acute diseases to expedite deliveries. The stations can handle prescriptions “in minutes rather than hours or days,” according to the business.

“By integrating Amazon Pharmacy’s deliveries into our existing world-class logistics network, Amazon is creating the fastest and most convenient service for home prescription medication delivery,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, in a statement. “These faster delivery speeds will be a game changer when you or your family need your medications quickly.”


San Bernardino, Riverside, and Anaheim, all in the Los Angeles area, will be eligible for same-day prescription deliveries beginning Tuesday. The broader Los Angeles metro region will be operational in April. By the end of the year, the company aims to have added over a dozen more cities.

In October, Amazon launched same-day prescription medicine delivery in Seattle, Miami, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas. At the same time, the business said that it would begin shipping prescription drugs by drone in College Station, Texas, one of two places where Amazon is dispatching unmanned aircraft to transport things weighing five pounds or less.

The business stated that it is dispatching e-bikes to conduct some Amazon Pharmacy deliveries in New York. For several years, Amazon has been experimenting with e-cargo delivery bikes throughout the city, which can speed up deliveries while lowering emissions.