Walgreens enlists digital tool to ease access to prescription drug discounts

Drug store giant Walgreens has launched a new Rx Savings Finder, a digital tool to help customers save money on prescriptions.

Powered by health care technology provider RxSense, the Rx Savings Finder finds free, third-party discount cards for prescription drugs, enabling patients to access lower prices on their Walgreens medications. The discounted prices—not available via private insurance plans—are sent by text message or email and then presented to Walgreens pharmacy staff to apply the savings.

“Inflation not only impacts our pockets but can have serious implications on health. Over one-third of Americans have avoided a prescription refill to reduce costs, and with over 131 million Americans taking at least one prescription medication, this is very concerning,” Walgreens Chief Pharmacy Officer Rick Gates said in a statement. “That is why we have launched Walgreens Rx Savings Finder, to empower our customers with transparent prescription costs and help them save money on medications.”

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens noted that the tool connects patients to savings on thousands of medications and provides transparent pricing before they go to the pharmacy counter to pick up their scripts. With no monthly subscription or yearly membership needed, Rx Savings Finder consolidates the search process across multiple Rx discount-card websites, saving Walgreens patients time and cost as well as easing the workload of pharmacists, according to the drug chain.

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“We are committed to empowering customers to find lower deals at Walgreens while unlocking the full potential of our pharmacists,” Gates added. “The response to our pilot program has been overwhelmingly positive, with both customers and our dedicated pharmacy staff reporting significant time and cost savings. One striking instance involves a pharmacist’s recent account where our Rx Savings Finder tool helped a customer save over $75 on their prescriptions during a single visit.”

To use Rx Savings Finder, customers access the tool at walgreens.rxsense.com via desktop or mobile device and enter their prescription into the search bar. A list of prices from a variety of prescription savings services is then displayed. Next, users click on the lowest-cost coupon and text, email or print it, or just show the card from their phone to their local Walgreens pharmacist to get the savings, which RxSense said ranges up to 80% off the retail price.

Though Rx Savings Finder discounts can’t be used with prescription drug insurance, the prices available through the coupons can be cheaper than a co-payment, Boston-based RxSense noted.

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“We’re thrilled to work with Walgreens to launch the Rx Savings Finder tool to bring even lower-cost prescriptions to millions of Walgreens customers,” stated Rick Bates, founder and CEO of RxSense. “RxSense is focused on delivering technology solutions to the market that offer price transparency and lower drug costs to our partners and their patients, and this new website will empower more consumers with access to deeper discounts on their medications.”