If anyone wants to learn more about the various APIs that Walgreens offers, I run the program and can help out. Just drop a note to apibizdev@walgreens.com or tweet us at @WalgreensAPI. We have photo printing, the aforementioned Rx refill and a tie-in with our rewards program and fitness apps/wearables.
I think every single consumer facing company should have an API for developers. So many ideas of mine usually end in "one day when that data is available". 20 years from now I imagine it will be the norm.
Prescription API? IANAL, but this seems like it could have some serious legal issues. Regardless, it is great to see how retailers are taking the web seriously now and are building API's.
We have a very simple API. We are not sending back any Rx info. You send us the Walgreens Rx and we present back a select store and time checkout. No customer name. No medication info.
so the only api function they have that looks remotely interesting to me is the prescriptions one. I don't work in the health-tech space, so are there no pre-existing APIs for submitting prescriptions? how do EMR systems do it now?
Maybe there could be an opportunity here for prescription submission + courier/delivery guy API integration to get on demand pickups of meds?
The prescription API is for existing (Walgreen's) prescriptions or transferring a Rx, it doesn't allow you to submit a new Rx, just order refills, etc.
I believe AllScripts' E-Prescribe pretty much has the market cornered for non-hospital pharmacies. I would think most hospital EMRs would have an integrated eprescribe for their internal pharmacy orders.
I was part of an AllScripts deployment in a previous job. It is truly awful, as are their deployment teams that you work with. They actually recommended we put the web, database, app, and other tiers on a single subnet/VLAN. "We can't help you do it any other way, we've not done that."
We have over 100 integrated apps with our photo printing API and offer a revenue share of up to 20% on the order once it's sold. Over 8200 locations in the US and many different photo products (https://developer.walgreens.com/page/quickprints-product-inf...).
I got turned away at a Walgreens pharmacy Friday afternoon because their "system was down." The pharmacist said it was affecting "all stores.". Interesting coincidence if it's not related to this roll out.
As both a developer and someone who takes medicine, I'd just like to say: NO
I shred my Prescription labels, and now they're basically going to be opened up to the world for some stupid developer to expose because he/she didn't think it through?
Apple's location data was secure until 3rd party apps leaked it. No thanks. The convenience is not worth the loss in security/privacy
If it's implemented correctly. How many top tech companies implement their API's perfectly the first, second, or even hundredth time around? Walgreens isn't a tech company.
As the patient, the person who's information is being stored, I should have the ONLY say so over what happens to that information EVER, and if they don't get that, I have no problem taking my business elsewhere, which it looks like I'll have to do.
To clarify, our Rx Refill API is "inbound" in nature only. If the patient initiates a refill, one can be completed. This is not an API around "outbound" information from Walgreens systems. Hope that helps to clarify.
