Announcements

Bay Area developers and designers:

Join Walgreens, Facebook, Aviary, Dropbox, AMD, Foursquare

& many more great sponsors at Photo Hack Day 4!

WHO: Our friends, old and new, in the photo space

WHAT: Another full weekend of photo-centric awesomeness

WHERE: Facebook HQ in Menlo Park

WHEN: April 6-7, 2013

HOW: Register today at phd4.eventbrite.com

[About Photo Hack Day 4]

Photo Hack Day, an exciting, weekend-long coding marathon, brings together talented developers and designers to build amazing applications using web and mobile photo API's.

Teams compete to create the most inspiring and innovative apps, gunning to win big prize money, cool tech gear, and the respect and wonderment of their peers in the startup community.

The 4th in the series, Photo Hack Day 4 brings the fun back to the West Coast, this time with our friends at Facebook, to bring you the greatest Photo Hack Day yet!

[Walgreens & Photo Hack Day 4]

Walgreens will be featuring its QuickPrints API & SDKs at Photo Hack Day 4 for developer attendees to utilize within their application hacks.  We will also be offering a $1,000 cash prize for the best use of QuickPrints.

Walgreens will feature multiple representatives on-hand at the event to discuss QuickPrints and our Partner Program. If you want to reach us before or at the event, feel free to send a tweet to @WalgreensAPI or email us at devportal@walgreens.com.

Walgreens is excited to be a part of this event and look forward to seeing you there! The event is free to attend, and you can register at phd4.eventbrite.com.

#happyhacking

Presentation at Health 2.0 Chicago Meetup on March 20, 2013 by Sr. Product Manager Joe Rago regarding the Walgreens Prescription API.

The first-ever API Strategy Conference took place in New York City on Thursday February 21 and Friday February 22.

This event was attended by leading API technologists, strategists, technology providers, as well as others who are just starting the API journey

If you were not able to attend the event in-person, don't worry, included below is the presentation that our product manager, Joe Rago, gave at the event.

Presentation at Health 2.0 Chicago Meetup on February 4, 2013 by Sr. Product Manager Joe Rago regarding the launch of the Walgreens Prescription API.

Making prescription refills easier can help patients get the most benefit from medication and lower overall health care costs

DEERFIELD, Ill., Feb. 4, 2013 – Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) today is making available a new application programming interface (API) that allows third-party mobile app developers to integrate the drugstore chain’s prescription refill technology.  Developers who have scanning functionality within their apps can easily integrate the API to enable their users to order a prescription refill by scanning the barcode on a Walgreens prescription bottle.   

 “People continue to become increasingly engaged with their mobile devices and use the technology to help make their day-to-day lives easier,” said Abhi Dhar, Walgreens e-commerce chief technology officer.  “By incorporating the Walgreens Prescription API, mobile app developers are providing users with an easy way to refill prescriptions and help them properly take their medication.”

Eleven percent of hospital admissions and 40 percent of nursing home admissions are attributable to medication non-adherence, which has been estimated to cost the U.S. health care system $290 billion annually.1,2  In addition to tools such as Refill by Scan, Walgreens pharmacists can significantly improve adherence to medications through face-to-face interaction and counseling.  One recent study demonstrated a nearly 5 percent increase in adherence rates among patients who received regular counseling from their pharmacist over the course of a year.3  

The Walgreens Prescription API marks the first time such technology is available for adoption among mobile app developers who focus on health and wellness, and it is the second API program offered by Walgreens.  Last year, Walgreens launched its QuickPrints SDK and API, which provided third-party developers with the ability to integrate in-store photo services for its users.  The Walgreens Prescription API already has been adopted by several app developers including Healthspek and PocketPharmacist.  

 “We are excited about our relationship with Walgreens.  Walgreens leadership position in technology and consumer empowerment fits perfectly with Healthspek's message to consumers ‘Own Your Chart!’,” said Randy Farr, president of Healthspek.  

"PocketPharmacist is thrilled to offer iOS users both the convenience and ease of refilling their Walgreens prescriptions," said Michael Guren, founder and CEO of Danike, Inc.  “We believe this adds to our goal of helping people better understand and manage their medications.”

Detailed information for the program can be found on the Walgreens Developer Portal at developer.walgreens.com.  The Healthspek and PocketPharmacist apps can be downloaded through the following links:

• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketpharmacist-drug-information/id387365379?mt=8

• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/healthspek/id576488481?mt=8

About Walgreens

As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become America’s first choice for health and daily living. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,061 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

1 Osterberg L, Blaschke T. Adherence to medication. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353(5):487-497

2 New England Health Institute. NEHI Research Shows Patient Medication Nonadherence Costs Health Care System $290 Billion Annually. 2009. Available at http://www.nehi.net/news/press_releases/110/nehi_research_shows_patient_medication_nonadherence_costs _health_care_system_290_billion_annually. August 11, 2009. Accessibility verified December 19, 2011.

3 Taitel M, Jiang J, Rudkin K, Ewing S, Duncan I. The impact of pharmacist face-to-face counseling to improve medication adherence among patients initiating statin therapy. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2012;6:323–329