How to Enhance Prescription Order History and Tracking

Online order history pages enable customers to view prescription order details and track the progress of their orders. As mail delivery and online pharmacies grow in popularity, prescription order history and tracking capabilities will only continue to grow in importance. Corporate Insight’s 2023 Pharmacy Consumer Survey found that over half (55%) of desktop users have ordered or refilled a prescription in the last six months, and about a third (30%) have tracked an order in that time. Therefore, firms should offer detailed prescription order history pages with ample tracking abilities. Additionally, including an abundance of shipping and payment information as well as medication details is crucial in providing transparency to customers.

This August, Corporate Insight published an Order History and Tracking report, evaluating the prescription order history and tracking capabilities provided by 21 firms in the Pharmacy Monitor coverage set, including health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and online and retail pharmacies. We examine how firms structure and showcase order information and assess the amount of payment information available. When available, we look at home delivery details like delivery date, shipping address, delivery carrier and tracking number. Further, we note the presence of features that enhance order history and tracking capabilities, such as filters and sorting options.

The report highlights two stand-out pharmacy benefit managers: CenterWell Pharmacy and Express Scripts

CenterWell Pharmacy offers a convenient online platform for managing home delivery orders. Customers can easily track their orders, view medication details and provide feedback on their delivery experiences. The firm’s user-friendly design, including clear visuals and helpful tools, makes it easy for customers to stay informed about prescriptions.

Express Scripts provides a comprehensive online platform for managing prescription orders. It offers detailed order history and prescription information as well as user-friendly features like color-coded pages, simple filters and clear order progress tracking, making it easy for members to stay informed about their prescriptions.

Below are some of the findings from the report on creating a top digital experience when it comes to prescription order history and tracking.

Visual elements like progress meters and color add aesthetic interest

Visual elements make order history pages more appealing and help customers quickly understand and navigate through the site. Firms should incorporate color throughout their order history pages not only to add visual interest but also to establish a clear hierarchy of information. Firms can employ color to represent the order status, allowing users to quickly scan and identify the status of their prescriptions.

• Many (67%) firms in this report include a progress meter, offering users a visual representation of the order progress; effective progress meters label each step in the process and use color shading or familiar icons, such as checkmarks, to indicate when a stage has been completed.
• Amazon Pharmacy offers a detailed progress meter with date and time markers alongside each step of the process. Additionally, green checkmarks represent completed steps.

• Express Scripts features a colorful Order Details page, which displays shades of green via checkmarks and text to indicate when an order is successfully completed. Additionally, Express Scripts effectively uses color to communicate order status, using gray to represent pending orders and red to represent a canceled order.

Real-time tracking capabilities and shipping information enable users to locate their orders

Tracking information creates a more predictable interaction, allowing users to retain greater control throughout the order process. As medications can be timely, it is important that users can track the progress of their delivery and see each step of the delivery process. Knowing the exact delivery date helps users ensure that they have their medication when needed, preventing gaps in treatment. Further, when users can see the location of their package, they can arrange to be home or have someone available to receive the delivery, ensuring that their medication arrives securely. Enabling users to view shipping information, such as the courier, method and tracking number, also allows them to better manage their orders. Knowing who is delivering the order allows them to better anticipate the delivery and empowers them to reach out to the appropriate customer service team if issues occur.

• Over a third (45%) of firms in this report list a tracking number, and over half (65%) link users to the courier’s site to track orders. Only two firms allow members to track orders directly within the pharmacy site.
• Only three firms—CenterWell Pharmacy, Nurx and Amazon Pharmacy—offer dedicated tracking detail pages. CenterWell Pharmacy and Nurx both offer Narvar-powered tracking pages, allowing users to see a full shipping history with date and time markers of their medication’s locations throughout the whole shipping process. Amazon Pharmacy features a Tracking page that outlines shipping and delivery information.

For more insights into digital innovation in the healthcare space, check out our research services in four areas—Health Plan, Medicare, Health System and Pharmacy. Don’t forget to check out our Insights section for more industry trends and best practices in the healthcare space.