Uber Technologies (UBER 2.29%) is expanding its push into healthcare by launching a prescription delivery service in partnership with NimbleRx, an online medication-delivery platform for independent pharmacies.
The service is operational in Seattle and Dallas, but the two plan to expand elsewhere in the country soon. It's the third major growth initiative of Uber Health.
Image source: Uber Technologies.
Started in 2018, Uber Health was originally set up to allow healthcare professionals to call for rides for patients traveling to and from needed medical care.
Last year it partnered with Henry Schein to have drivers deliver a Medpod portable diagnostics machine to a patient's house where a healthcare worker could conduct remote exams in nontraditional settings, and if necessary transport the patient to the doctor's office.
Uber began a pilot of the latest service this summer with over 15,000 NimbleRx prescriptions delivered.
Nimble CEO Talha Sattar said in a statement, "Our partnership with Uber Health will allow Nimble to increase our capacity to serve our customers, and more efficiently deliver the prescriptions people need to address their health conditions."
It offers next-day delivery to 70% of the population in the U.S., and same-day delivery to 30%. Forbes says NimbleRx generates about $500 million in revenue annually from a network of more than 700 pharmacies in 34 states. It says the pharmacies tend to have 10 to 20 stores, though the Uber partnership could be attractive to larger chains.
