Chain adds mobile pharmacy app

For the past 35 years, Giant Eagle has not wavered from its commitment to provide its customers with the utmost in convenient pharmacy care.

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At the same time, however, the way the 223-store grocery chain attains that goal has changed to keep pace with the evolving nature of community pharmacy.



“Since opening the first pharmacy in Pittsburgh in 1980, Giant Eagle’s guiding philosophy has evolved from improving customers’ everyday access to health information and prescriptions to providing caring services that drive adherence and improve quality of life,” spokesman Dan Donovan said.



Like many of its competitors, the company has used low-cost and free prescription programs to attract customers. Patients can receive 30-day supplies of certain generic drugs for $4 and 90-day supplies of those same drugs for $10. In addition, Giant Eagle offers free prescriptions for generic antibiotics and two blood-pressure medications.



Recognizing what Donovan calls “a strong need for continuity of care among chronically ill patients,” Giant Eagle added specialty pharmacy services in 2011. In 2013, the company added to that with the acquisition of Rx21 Specialty Pharmacy.



The emphasis on convenience is crucial to the company’s pharmacies remaining a viable option for shoppers who have myriad choices of where to fill their prescriptions, he noted.

In an effort to ensure that its pharmacies are among the most convenient for patients in its area, Giant Eagle added a mobile pharmacy app to its offering last year.



The app allows customers to use their smart-phones to refill prescriptions, set refill and medication reminders and receive alerts when prescriptions are available for pickup.



Donovan noted that the app is among the most recent steps in Giant Eagle’s ongoing effort to meet customers’ needs by offering unique, convenience-based services and innovative technological advances.