Walgreens.com to offer patients drug 'reviews'

As the popularity of online reviews continues to increase among shoppers, Walgreens announced it is working with a Yelp-like website to make it easier for patients to read reviews about the medications they take.

Now, anyone researching a medication or filling a prescription on Walgreens.com can access a simple snapshot that shows how their prescribed medication has impacted other patients on the therapy, including medication side effects, as reported by PatientsLikeMe members.

“We want to help patients wherever they are, so they can be better informed about the treatments they’re taking and make more informed health decisions,” said Michael Evers, PatientsLikeMe EVP marketing and patient advocacy. “We’re thrilled to be working with the nation’s largest drug store chain. Our work with Walgreens will give their patients important insights from people taking both simple and complex medications. It can also help enrich our treatment data should Walgreens patients decide to join our community.”

PatientsLikeMe is the first featured external contributor to the new Walgreens Health Dashboard, a secure and private personalized health information offering. Walgreens can access PatientsLikeMe content to share information that may be of interest to Walgreens patients based on individual medication needs.

“Leveraging patient perspectives and experiences through Walgreens Health Dashboard provides our patients with helpful insight into their medications and overall therapy management,” said Adam Pellegrini, Walgreens divisional VP digital health. “Our collaboration with PatientsLikeMe underscores the power of social support and shared experiences on a wellness journey.”

The agreement also marks the first time PatientsLikeMe has integrated its data on another company’s website. PatientsLikeMe is a free, online network where patients living with chronic conditions can track their health, connect with others and contribute data for research. More than 300,000 individuals have joined PatientsLikeMe and shared their own experiences with various treatments. The PatientsLikeMe-sourced information is updated daily with new patient reports, and covers many medications available at Walgreens pharmacies.