Walgreens Introduces Live Pharmacy Chat

DEERFIELD, Ill., August 06, 2010 - With 20 percent of Walgreens 7,500-plus pharmacies open 24 hours daily, Walgreens patients nationwide rely on the round-the-clock convenience and accessibility of Walgreens pharmacy. Now, Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) is making its trusted pharmacy staff even more accessible - available any time online - with Walgreens Pharmacy Chat. Pharmacy Chat is a live, one-on-one, online chat with a pharmacy staff member available 24/7 through the Walgreens website at www.walgreens.com/pharmacychat.

"Pharmacists are among the most trusted health care professionals, and Pharmacy Chat gives our patients and customers another way to reach out to Walgreens pharmacy when it's most convenient for them," said Kermit R. Crawford, Walgreens executive vice president of pharmacy. "Our pharmacy staff is always here to help, and we continue to introduce innovative technologies that bring our pharmacy services to our patients wherever they are, whenever they need us."

Pharmacy Chat is available to registered users on Walgreens.com. Registration is free. The service makes Walgreens pharmacists and pharmacy technicians available 24 hours daily to answer questions regarding prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, pricing inquiries, prescription status and more. Pharmacy Chat provides another way for patients to readily get in touch with Walgreens pharmacy staff, which is available in stores, over the phone and now online.

Pharmacy Chat is the latest extension of Walgreens online pharmacy, and one of many ways in which Walgreens is connecting the Web to its neighborhood stores and pharmacies throughout the U.S. Walgreens recently introduced prescription text alerts, which notify mobile phone users via text message when their prescriptions are ready, or if there are any status changes.

In addition, Walgreens.com offers: Express Refills, which enable customers to enter a prescription number online for in-store pickup at their preferred Walgreens location, refill reminders, e-mail alerts, the ability to look up health records online and more. Many of Walgreens other pharmacy, photo and product services are also available through Walgreens mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android users.