Uber South Africa Partners With Medicare to Launch Medicine Delivery Service

Uber Eats has partnered with Medicare to provide users access to over-the-counter medication directly on the Uber Eats app. Uber South Africa said this includes schedule 1 and 2 medicine for delivery without the recipient having to leave home.

“We strongly believe in reinventing pharmacy, and thanks to this partnership with Uber Eats this is made possible,” said Medicare CEO Tim Knapp.

“Getting the medication South Africans need, when they need it, without the risk of leaving their home is just the beginning as we continue to explore how best we can bring access, convenience and reliability in our everyday needs.”

Before any order is prepared and dispatched to the user, they must provide personal details such as their full name, address, and contact number as this is required by law. The individual who accepts the medication will also need to provide a form of identification upon delivery.

“Seeing how quickly locals adopted an online platform allowed us the opportunity to significantly scale our offerings to cater for more than just food, moving to just about anything that one might need to live comfortably at home,” said Shane Austin, General Manager of Uber Eats in Sub Saharan Africa.

Other new options

Uber South Africa said that this partnership is not the only new addition to the Uber Eats platform. A variety of new products will be available through the Uber Eats app including the newly-launched “easy-to-find shortcuts.”

This gives customers instant access to new merchants like grocery stores, butchers, retailers like Game and Exclusive Books, and pet supply stores such as Absolute Pets.

It said that to date, South African couriers have completed over 900,000km in grocery deliveries alone. Uber Eats also plans to launch new and improved features such as updated tailored recommendations.

“The more you order, the more tailored our recommendations, so you’ll spend less time choosing and more time eating,” said Austin.

“When you’re looking to discover a new favourite, you’ll see curated picks for you, like Hidden Gems in your neighbourhood, and Family Favourites with food bundles to feed the entire crew.”

Additionally, Uber Eats plans to launch group ordering later this month, which allows users to order from more than one restaurant in a single order.