WASHINGTON — After testing same-day prescription delivery in Manhattan since last fall, CVS Pharmacy has added D.C. to the same-day prescription delivery list, along with Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Delivery from CVS is available in the District now, but it is not available in the wider D.C. area yet.
Drugstores and other retailers have been pushing more customer-friendly services in recent years to hold Amazon.com at bay. The online retailer offers members same-day deliveries of goods typically sold in drugstores in some places.
Same-day prescription delivery from CVS includes a one-time cost of $8.99. All orders placed by 4 p.m. are delivered by 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on weekends, orders placed by 11 a.m. are delivered by 4 p.m.
Same-day delivery uses local courier services in the six cities where it is currently available.
CVS said prescription delivery within one to two days via the U.S. Postal Service is now also available nationwide from nearly all of its 9,800 stores.
The delivery service charge for one- or two-day delivery is $4.99.
CVS will also deliver more than just prescriptions.
A selection of health and household items carried by CVS stores including cold and flu remedies, allergy medications, pain relief, first aid, digestive health, vitamins, baby, personal and feminine care products are available for delivery.
CVS said it is expanding the list of products available for delivery and that deliveries can be scheduled through its app or just by calling the local CVS pharmacy location.
The company is trying to position itself as more of a health care provider. Last December, it said it would buy the nation’s third-largest health insurer, Aetna Inc., for about $69 billion.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
