Walgreens improves mobile app with pill reminder, Rx transfer

Walgreens recently beefed up its new iPhone and Android apps, launched last fall, with a pill reminder and prescription transfer function, plus a few other tweaks, according to Mobile Commerce Daily.

The pill reminder function pushes messages out to customers to remind them to take their medications, and can be customized to send reminders daily, hourly, weekly, monthly or on a specific day, according to iMedicalApps. The reminder feature also can link to the customer's Walgreens account to provide the user's medications list.

Users also now can transfer prescriptions between Walgreens pharmacies. Interestingly, the app uses a pretty low-tech method--customers take a picture of the prescription and send the image to their desired location.

Walgreens officials estimate 40 percent of their online prescription refills come through mobile channels. And, they say that two million customers are using the company's text-messaging service, Refill Reminder Text Alerts, Mobile Commerce reports.

The pharmaceutical chain has some other interesting mobile irons in the fire, as well. Mobile Commerce reports Walgreens is working on a social networking campaign providing coupons through Foursquare, as well as a location-based coupon program that uses Twitter and LocalResponse.

To learn more:
- read the Mobile Commerce Daily story
- dig into iMedicalApps' coverage