Web site adds open channel for patients

Drug Store News,  Dec 19, 2005  by James Frederick

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Wal-Mart's online pharmacy, wal-mart.com, has grown into a multi-faceted, interactive source for both pharmacy services and patient information. And the list of services continues to grow, said Nancy Suh, senior services manager for the wal-mart.com division.

"We complement the bricks-and-mortar service with online features that not only allow our customers to place their refills online, but to manage their prescriptions online," she said. Indeed, said Suh, Wal-Mart's interactive, Web-driven capabilities now allow customers "to access their entire prescription history online, so they can easily place refills from that history. And they can do things such as create refill reminders."

In addition, Suh said, the site allows patients to create auto refills, "which is particularly useful for customers who are managing multiple prescriptions, where they may ... place those refills at various times.

"[Customers] can set up auto refills online, so you don't really have to think about it. That's a huge convenience," said the four-year Wal-Mart veteran.

Customers who choose not to set up automatic refills can still set up refill reminders. "If you're not automating your refills, you can just have an e-mail sent to you every month or two to remind you to order your refills," said Suh.

The online pharmacy also lets customers access and print out their medical expense summaries. "Come tax time when you need a history of what you've spent on your prescriptions at a Wal-Mart pharmacy, you can print that online," she said.

Wal-Mart's online pharmacy has been in existence since the 1990s. But the functionality that enables its customers to access their entire store and online prescription purchasing history through their wal-mart.com account went live in September.

The new, more interactive features to the Connexus pharmacy system and, in particular, by the rollout of Rx Network, a database of patient records gleaned from all WalMart pharmacies.

According to pharmacy merchandise manager Bruce Painter, the company's search for new ways to wring more customer conveniences from those information systems enhancements is ongoing. "As technology is able to drive convenience and access to our customers, we'll continue to look at this," he said. "This whole dot-com piece will continue to develop."

Suh describes wal-mart.com as "very integrated" with the retail side of the business. "We actually work very closely with Bruce's [pharmacy merchandising] team and with the buyers on the store side," she told Drug Store News. "From our perspective, our customers see it as one Wal-Mart. We talk about in-store events like the flu shot program on our site, and we're constantly providing our customers with as much information as we can about what choices they have, whether it's in the store or online.

"We're cross-marketing all over the place," Suh added.

Like the stores, the Web-based pharmacy puts a big focus on patient education. "What we have on our site is a Wellness Center, which you can access through our pharmacy department," said Suh, with "topics such as women's health. And with that, we'll host articles on various topics like breast cancer."

Other topics covered in the online Wellness Center include heart health, diabetes and weight loss. Suh called it "a constantly evolving area" with information on "everything from prevention to disease management and maintenance of those conditions."

For instance, she said, online customers who click on the "heart health" topic "may be looking for recipes to improve their diet and help manage their conditions. That's a great area where we can work to promote healthier eating--and work with our groceries division.

"We're constantly adding content to help our customers," Suh added. "We also include information on in-store events."

In addition, the site offers Medicare Part D information and links to the home page for Humana, Wal-Mart's Part D pharmacy provider partner for Medicare. "The customer can go as basic or as in-depth as they feel they need to, to get fully educated about Part D," said Painter.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart is still soliciting input from its various constituencies to improve the Web site. "We're constantly in communication with our pharmacists, our associates and the team at the home office, as well as our customers and our suppliers, so that we're constantly getting feedback," said Suh. "It's evolving on a daily basis."

The next step in that evolution: a move to expand its selection of higher-ticket, large-scale health products online.

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