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Join us in delivering our industry-leading pharmacy care to millions of people across the country. As a member of the team, you’ll play an integral role in improving our customers’ quality of life and redefining what’s possible in pharmacy. 

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Blog | Alto Pharmacy

When Jake Moffatt says he loves building things, he means it — sometimes literally. A construction project manager turned engineer, Jake has spent the past decade building software at mission-driven organizations. Today, as Engineering Manager of Alto Assistant, he leads the team that’s bringing wizard-like support to Alto’s customer-facing app.

Get to know Jake Moffatt, Engineering Manager on the Alto Assistant Team

When Jake Moffatt says he loves building things, he means it — sometimes literally. A construction project manager turned engineer, Jake has spent the past decade building software at mission-driven organizations. Today, as Engineering Manager of Alto Assistant, he leads the team that’s bringing wizard-like support to Alto’s customer-facing app.
Below, Jake chats with fellow engineering manager Mike Riess and recruiter Braden Hanlon about the work ahead for Alto Assistant.

I’d love to learn more about your background to get us started. How did you end up in software engineering?

When I was twelve, I started learning to code in QBASIC because I wanted to make video games. Once I wrote my first program, I was hooked! I loved computers and the creative power they gave to anyone willing to invest the time and energy to learn. Since then, I’ve built games, personal tools and projects, desktop software, and a number of apps and services — I love building things. My career has gone back and forth between construction and software engineering, but it’s been firmly in the software industry for the last ten years or so.

My favorite place to be in a company is working on something new that has a big impact or addresses an important problem. In a previous role, I built an app that helped people find roommates in a city where housing is prohibitively expensive. At that same company, I led the team responsible for creating a new vertical that eventually split off into its own company.

The goal of Alto Assistant is to help customers help themselves before reaching out to support. Our first project is introducing a wizard-like support “assistant” (hence the team name!) that guides the customer through a series of questions to narrow down the area of support. We’ve already identified a few tasks the assistant can help customers complete on their own, including making changes to upcoming deliveries or scheduling new orders.

In cases where we can’t help them just yet, our new tool generates data to help us to learn exactly what customers need help with. It’s a top priority to bake analytics into every new feature we build; even though we have years of experience supporting our customers — and we know intuitively which problems they frequently experience — we don’t have conclusive data to draw upon just yet.

We plan to start with a couple of frequent use cases and measure how often customers reach out to us for support. Then, we’ll chip away at the problem until we’ve seen a substantial improvement in the user experience. From there, we’ll move on to the next biggest problem and repeat the cycle. There’s a reason “Chip away it” is an Alto value: It’s the playbook that we’ve used to automate other critical parts of the pharmacy value stream like intake, billing, and fulfillment.

What opportunities are you most excited about?

Support drives much of the cost of every shipment today, so this is a high-impact area for our business. A year from now, it would be a stellar outcome if the Assistant team could reduce the number of issues that customers need support on by half.

We’re also thinking about the user experience beyond the app. We plan to improve the tooling that our care specialists use to provide support as well. We’ve already discussed some promising ideas like creating the concept of a conversation in support communications rather than an infinite stream of messages and building out enriched communications. We also intend to develop a custom tool that can expedite a customer’s prescription when they need their medication ASAP.

The possibilities are many, and it will take a team of determined, passionate, empathetic people to solve these challenging problems. I’m super excited to see what the Assistant team will do together.

Any lessons learned from previous experience that you’re applying to your role at Alto?

There’s always the temptation to tackle everything at once with new business initiatives. My experience leading new verticals at Apartment List and Snapdocs taught me the importance of being laser-focused on one or two key metrics instead of trying to build out a fully-realized product from the beginning. That’s exactly what we’re doing on the Alto Assistant Team with our clear focus on reducing communications per shipment — how often customers reach out for help because they could not find what they needed in our app.

It’s also important to recognize that we won’t have all the answers right out of the gate! I like to think of product development as a three-step sequence: learning, growth, and maintenance. Alto Assistant is so young that we’re very much still in the learning phase. We maintain a tight iteration loop with everything we ship: launch, measure the impact, and use the results to iterate and refine our hypotheses about what our users want. Our final product could be anything from a customer support wizard to an AI chatbot to a ticketing system — we have to rely on our key metric of communications per shipment, experimentation, and user feedback to shape the direction.

What got you excited to join Alto? What would you pass on to an engineer thinking about applying to the company?

I was impressed by the Altoids I met during the interview process. I knew I would be working with people from whom I could learn a lot, like Elnaz, who started as an individual contributor and went on to become Director of Engineering and, now, Alto’s first Head of Strategy & Operations. I was also impressed by the quality of the interview process itself — a good sign that the company was well-organized internally. Finally, the pitch for the role was extremely clear, with already-established key metrics that would directly contribute to the company’s bottom line and help Alto become more profitable.

For engineers, I think Alto is a great place for both technical challenges and career growth. We’re still small enough that every individual gets exposure to a broad portfolio of high-impact projects. It’s also a great environment for learning about how a business works — the Product & Technology organization does a great job of sharing information and presenting problems in a way that gets to the root business problem we’re trying to solve. There’s a clear line between any project a team is working on and a foundational business metric. Most importantly, we’re a company that makes a truly positive impact on our users’ lives.

Interested in learning more about engineering at Alto? Follow us on LinkedIn.

Alto’s board of advisors was formed in 2020 to deliver strategic guidance as we work toward a better healthcare system for all. With diverse leadership experience in the industry, our board of advisor members ensure that our efforts are both impactful and efficient, with services grounded in the highest standards of operational excellence.

Meet the Newest Members of our Advisory Board | Alto Pharmacy

Today we’re thrilled to welcome three new members to the board of advisors: Adam J. Fein, Harry Leider, and Brad Fluegel. Their passion and expertise will no doubt be an asset as we focus on reaching even more patients — and delivering even more comprehensive care — in service of our mission.

Read on to learn more about their backgrounds in the industry and join us in giving them a warm welcome!

Adam J. Fein, PhD, is the CEO of Drug Channels Institute, a leading source of industry research about pharmaceutical economics and the drug distribution system. Widely published in academic and industry publications, he also heads the Drug Channels website, praised by readers for its comprehensive and witty coverage of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), medication pricing, and other industry topics.

Delivering medications to our patients at the lowest price possible is central to our mission. Dr. Fein’s deep expertise in pharmacy economics supports our ongoing commitment to improve adherence rates by way of more affordable medication options and total price transparency.

“The pharmacy industry has entered a period of structural change. There’s a tremendous need for the cost transparency, efficiency, and commitment to patient well-being that Alto delivers. I’m thrilled to support Alto in building innovative solutions to foundational issues within the industry,” Dr. Fein said.

Dr. Fein holds a doctoral degree in managerial science and applied economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Harry L. Leider, MD, MBA brings more than 25 years of experience as a senior healthcare executive to our board of advisors. Since 2018, he’s served as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Gelesis, an innovative biopharmaceutical company.

In addition to his current leadership in the biotherapeutic space, Dr. Leider has broad experience in telemedicine, retail healthcare, laboratory medicine, and payor strategies, as former Chief Medical Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Ameritox, and Care Improvement Plus.

Dr. Leider shares Alto’s commitment to driving lasting change within the healthcare system for better patient health. With both clinical expertise and executive experience, he’s spent his career designing programs, services, and intellectual property that improve health outcomes.

“Alto’s pharmacy model brings us closer to a future where everyone can receive the highest standard of care and is equipped to manage their health. I’m personally inspired by Alto’s bold vision for healthcare and look forward to what we can accomplish together,” Dr. Leider said.

Dr. Leider has served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business and holds five patents in laboratory medicine.

Drawing on more than three decades of healthcare experience, Brad Fluegel is a strategic advisor to organizations, entrepreneurs, and other industry participants. Most recently he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Healthcare Commercial Market Development Officer for Walgreen Co, where he managed all commercial healthcare activities, from sales and contracting to biopharma relationships and market planning.

Previously, Brad oversaw Walgreens’ corporate strategy and business development as Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer. He also led Elevance (then Wellpoint)’s strategic planning and corporate communications as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer.

His expertise in strategic planning and operations will allow us to deliver an exceptional patient experience as we continue to grow.

“Since 2015, Alto has proven itself to be a leader in the rapidly evolving digital pharmacy space. It’s a privilege to support their efforts to redefine what’s possible in healthcare, and together we can deliver industry-leading care to more patients,” he said.

Brad earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor of arts in business administration from the University of Washington. He also serves as a lecturer at the Wharton School of Business.

Dr. Fein, Dr. Leider, and Brad join three other advisory board members: Dr. James Hildreth, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Meharry Medical College; Jennifer Kent, previously the Director for the California Department of Health Care Services; and Ajay Khatri, previously Alto’s Chief Strategy Officer. 

Dr. Hildreth, Jennifer, and Ajay have offered invaluable guidance as we’ve grown throughout the past two years, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their partnership and support.

Learn more about Dr. Hildreth and Jennifer’s healthcare experience.

Visit alto.com/careers to learn more about our open roles and join us in delivering industry-leading pharmacy care.

This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Meet the Newest Members of Our Advisory Board

We’re excited to share that Alicia Boler Davis will be Alto’s next CEO. She will start on September 1, 2022. This is a big moment for Alto, so we wanted to share how we got here.

Introducing Alto’s New CEO - Alicia Boler Davis

We’re excited to share that Alicia Boler Davis will be Alto’s next CEO. She will start on September 1, 2022.

This is a big moment for Alto, so we wanted to share how we got here.

Alto has come a long way since we started out in 2015 by acquiring AG Pharmacy in San Francisco. Those first few months revealed just how much opportunity there was to build a better pharmacy experience for patients by rebuilding the entire end-to-end technology stack, combining it with a more efficient operational process, and backing it all with a talented and caring team. And with that insight we started forging ahead with bright eyes and relentless optimism toward our ultimate mission: fulfill medicine’s true purpose - to improve quality of life - for everyone who needs it.

Like any transformational startup, the journey has not been without its challenges. We’ve been consistently humbled by the complexity of the pharmacy industry and the challenges inherent in transforming how it works. Yet we’ve also been consistently amazed by how much opportunity there really is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients, and how receptive people are to a better solution. And through persistence and grit, combined with an increasingly talented and diverse team, we have overcome all the challenges that we have faced so far. We have served over 300,000 patients, with a 90 Net Promoter Score, are unit profitable, and are expected to pass $1 billion in annualized revenue in the next few months. We’re making faster progress than at any point in the company’s history. 

So if things are going so well, why are we hiring a new CEO? The opportunity ahead of us is huge, and along with that the challenges are getting more complex. Despite how far we’ve come, we are still only 0.2% of the total pharmacy industry market share. Capturing this massive opportunity will require leveling up our already world-class team with an even greater level of bold, rigorous, caring, experienced leadership.

As we got to know Alicia over the past few months, we realized that we had found the perfect partner to lead us through the next phase of Alto’s growth. Alicia was most recently the SVP of Global Customer Fulfillment at Amazon, and before that the EVP of Global Manufacturing at General Motors. Alicia grew up in Detroit, and got her first job as an engineering intern at GM. Over the next 25 years she worked her way up to running a plant, then running multiple plants, then running all of quality and customer experience, and finally running all of global manufacturing. She was the first Black woman to accomplish each of these things at GM. In 2019 she joined Amazon, and was quickly promoted to the prestigious S-team, which is the exclusive inner circle of the most senior leaders at Amazon. When she was barely a year into the job, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and over the next two years she oversaw Amazon nearly doubling its fulfillment network capacity to keep up with surging demand, while managing a team of over 800,000 people. Alicia built a reputation for successfully navigating the toughest challenges while driving unparalleled growth by bringing out the best in her teams.

From the day we started, we have always tried to build a team that is balanced between the rigor and operational excellence needed to execute in this complex industry, along with the heart and care that we saw was missing from the industry. These are not mutually exclusive attributes, but they are extremely rare to find in the same person. In Alicia, more than any other leader we’ve ever met at her level, we’ve found someone who can bring that balance that we seek. She is one of the world’s top executives in operations, and is a rigorous, disciplined operator. And at the same time, she leads with real heart and care for the people that she serves and that she works with.

With Alicia coming on board as CEO, Matt and I will continue to be involved full-time, both in supporting Alicia and with our own portfolios of projects to lead. We’re more committed than ever to Alto, and more excited than ever about the real opportunity we have in front of us. And we are so early in this journey that it is clear there is no shortage of work to do and problems to solve. Matt and I have never been attached to any particular role or title, and have each worn many different hats over the years. We are humble about what we are good at and what we are not, and just want to do what is best for our team in order to achieve our mission. In the short term we will focus on ramping Alicia up, and after that we will work more on what we do best: building our long term strategy, leveraging our entrepreneurial spirit to spin up new business lines, defining and evolving our culture, and sharing the Alto vision.

We are just getting started, and there is still so much opportunity to fix this broken industry, and truly help people live happier and healthier lives. We can’t wait to see what we will do together in this next phase of the Alto journey.

Receiving feedback from your manager or coworkers can be scary. Giving them feedback can be even scarier. It’s why many companies lack a culture of regular feedback and rely instead on a stress-inducing biannual performance review cycle.

How We’re Making It Easier (and More Fun!) to Give Teammates Feedback

One of Alto’s company values is “communicate with candor.” To make sure we live by this value, we recently set out to make peer feedback more frequent, honest, and fun. Here’s how it went.

Earlier this year, Alto’s patient care team hosted its first Speedback session, inspired by a Thoughtworks idea of the same name.

Set aside a dedicated hour for team members to give feedback to one another.

Group participants into pairs and have multiple rounds. Each round lasts four minutes, giving both participants two minutes to speak.

Change pairs after each round, ensuring that each participant meets once with every other. 

Each round begins with highlighting what the feedback recipient is excelling at, then noting opportunities for improvement.

By creating a fun format for discussions and encouraging constructive criticism, we hoped to take the fear out of feedback and give every participant valuable and actionable insights.

Because Speedback rounds are, well, speedy, it was important that the team came prepared.

A week before the session, every team member identified specific areas they wanted to improve in, from communicating more effectively to keeping coworkers motivated. These were then posted in Lattice, an HR tool we use at Alto, for everyone else to see.

Over the next week, team members reviewed one another’s feedback requests and brainstormed suggestions to share on Speedback day. If a team member wanted tips for writing cleaner code, other Speedback participants could look through past code review sessions for examples.

Since Alto is a remote-first company, the team also had to plan for a virtual Speedback session. We used Zoom breakout rooms, which include helpful features such as countdown timers for the rounds.

After some initial finicking with Zoom, the team quickly got into a groove. Each participant received valuable feedback from every other, which they used to grow over the next few months.

Feedback was also cross-functional. Engineers received feedback from product managers, and product managers received feedback from engineers. Managers received feedback from their reports and vice versa.

“With the feedback I received, I realized that each person responds best to slightly different communication styles,” says Patient Care Engineering Manager Nick Helvig. “It’s helped me better understand and collaborate with the entire team.”

The team’s first Speedback session occurred two months before Alto’s annual performance review cycle. This gave participants valuable information to use for improvement, as well as documentation of their strengths, weaknesses, and growth.

As one team member put it, “What I appreciate most about Speedback is the opportunity to get super clear on where both you and your teammates are looking to improve. It’s also a great way to track your progress and see how far you’ve come in the past two months, the past year.”

Patient Care has since made Speedback a ritual every two months.

To make sure there is useful follow-up to prior feedback, the team has adjusted the timing of rounds from four minutes to six. The first two minutes are now dedicated to revisiting items from the last session, allowing participants to reflect on their progress as well as remaining opportunities for improvement.

Curious to give Speedback a try? Start by putting three blocks of time on your team’s calendar: the Speedback session, a reminder to request feedback for yourself, and a reminder to prepare feedback for others.

Ultimately, Speedback does a lot more than make feedback less scary — it integrates regular, honest discussions into a company’s culture. We hope you’ll find it as helpful as we have!

Since the beginning, Alto has delivered a full-service pharmacy experience straight to your doorstep. With the launch of Essentials from Alto, we’re now covering even more of your pharmacy needs.

This new offering gives you the option to purchase essential pharmacy items in the Alto app along with your prescription medication, from Tums® and Tylenol® to Covid tests, face masks, and more. It’s all part of our promise to make it easy to prioritize your health and wellness — and to keep you out of long pharmacy lines, of course.

A Full Pharmacy At Your Doorstep: Introducing Essentials from Alto

Since the beginning, Alto has delivered a full-service pharmacy experience straight to your doorstep. With the launch of Essentials from Alto, we’re now covering even more of your pharmacy needs.

This new offering gives you the option to purchase essential pharmacy items in the Alto app along with your prescription medication, from Tums® and Tylenol® to Covid tests, face masks, and more. It’s all part of our promise to make it easy to prioritize your health and wellness — and to keep you out of long pharmacy lines, of course.

Our pharmacy essentials will be offered automatically when you schedule a delivery. Here’s a sneak peak at what to expect.

Essentials from Alto is a curated collection of 50 widely used pharmacy products, conveniently featured in the Alto app. When scheduling a medication delivery, you will be able to browse the selection and add anything you need to your order at no extra cost.

At Alto, customers always come first, with all of our services designed to support your health and wellness. When developing Essentials from Alto, we made sure to include both general use items as well as products related to our core therapeutic areas.

Items available for purchase include but are not limited to:

Allergy & asthma essentials including Claritin®, Flonase®, Benadryl®, and Allegra®

Cough & cold essentials including Nyquil® and Dayquil®

Covid care essentials including rapid antigen tests and medical-grade face masks

Diabetes care essentials including glucose tablets

Digestive health essentials including Tums, Gas-X®, and stool softeners

Pain & fever relief essentials including Advil® and Tylenol

Vitamin & supplement essentials including vitamin D, vitamin C, fish oil, melatonin, and prenatal vitamins

You’ll pay for your essentials along with your prescription medications when you check out in the app, and then schedule them as one delivery.

As a reminder, your payment method options include Apple Pay, FSA/HSA, debit and credit cards, and automatic funds transfer.

To schedule a delivery, pick the day and delivery window that works best and let us know if we should bring your order to your home or office. You can designate a safe place for packages to be left if you won’t be home. 

Get tips for an easy Alto delivery experience.

We designed Essentials from Alto to better serve customers like you, and your feedback is key to improving the experience.

We’ll continue to refine our assortment of pharmacy essentials as we go. If there’s a particular product you’d like to see in the shop, we’re all ears. Send us a message at feedback@alto.com. 

At Alto, we’re more than just a pharmacy — we’re a partner in your health. We go above and beyond to get you the medication you need at the best price possible.

Free, same-day delivery is only the beginning. Our pharmacists are available until 9 pm PST on weeknights and 6 pm PST on weekends to answer any questions you have about your medication. We also offer support with insurance and finding the best price possible on your prescriptions.

Reach out any time through secure in-app messaging or by phone at 1-800-874-5881 to learn more or transfer your prescriptions to Alto.

All third party trademarks (including logos and icons) referenced by Alto Pharmacy remain the property of their respective owners. Unless specifically identified as such, Alto’s use of third party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship or endorsement between Alto and the owners of these trademarks.

The term “donut hole” refers to a gap in Medicare Part D prescription medication coverage. Once this coverage gap starts, you will likely pay more out of pocket for your medications. Here’s what to know about the Medicare donut hole, including how it may affect the cost of your prescription medications this year.

The Medicare Donut Hole, Explained

Medicare is a federally-run health insurance program for people age 65+ and people with disabilities, regardless of income. It is different from Medicaid, which is a state and federal program that provides health coverage if you have a very low income.

Part A: coverage for inpatient hospital visits and skilled nursing facility services

Part B: coverage for physician and outpatient hospital services and durable medical equipment (DME) costs, including insulin pumps, blood sugar test stips, some continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), nebulizers, and oxygen equipment

Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage (MA) plans: offered by private insurance companies to provide the same benefits as Medicare Parts A and B; many also offer prescription coverage similar to Part D

Part D: coverage for prescription medications that are commonly dispensed from the pharmacy including respiratory medications and injectable insulin; may cover insulin patch pumps; you can change Part D plans each year

Part D plans have an annual coverage gap known as the donut hole. Once this begins, you will pay more for your medications until you reach the yearly limit on out-of-pocket costs.

The donut hole begins when your Medicare plan has paid a certain amount toward your prescription medications in a given year. This is sometimes referred to as the initial coverage limit. In 2022, the initial limit for prescription drug coverage on Medicare Part D plans is $4,430/year, an increase from $4,130 in 2021. 

Once in the donut hole, you become responsible for no more than 25% of your medication costs until you hit a certain out-of-pocket threshold and can exit the donut hole. For example, if a medication’s total cost is $100 and you pay a $20 copay during the initial coverage period, you will be responsible for paying $25 — 25% of $100 — while in the donut hole.

The out-of-pocket threshold is the amount of money you have to spend out of pocket before you are allowed to leave the donut hole. In 2022, the out-of-pocket threshold for Part D plans is $7,050, an increase from $6,550 in 2021.

The following count toward your total out-of-pocket costs while in the donut hole:

Out-of-pocket expenses for generic and brand-name medications

After you’ve reached the out-of-pocket threshold, you receive “catastrophic coverage.” During this time, your share of medication costs will drop significantly to either 5% of a medication’s cost or a small copay — whichever is higher.

The minimum copay for a one-month supply of generic medication for Medicare Part D plans in 2022 is $3.95, and the minimum copay for a one-month supply of brand-name medication is $9.85.

Medicare Extra Help offers financial assistance with monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and copay costs related to prescription medications. Eligibility is income-based. Those who receive Medicare Extra Help will not enter the donut hole.

To qualify for the program in 2022, annual income is limited to $20,385 for an individual or $27,465 for a married couple living together.

For more information on Medicare and the donut hole, we suggest exploring the following resources.

www.medicare.gov - includes live chat and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)

The Medicare and You Handbook - includes key deadlines for enrollment and details on coordinating third party coverage from former employers, the military, and Veterans Affairs.

The Medicare Plan Finder - a trusted source for comparing Medicare coverage options.

Your choice of pharmacy can significantly impact the cost of your medications. At Alto, we prioritize your financial wellness alongside your physical health. Here are some ways we go above and beyond to ensure that you’re receiving your medications at the lowest price possible.

We research all your pricing options once we receive a prescription. If it is cheaper to pay cash for your medications, separate from insurance benefits, we’ll let you know so that you can make an informed choice.

We automatically search for potential sources of savings like manufacturer coupons, patient assistance programs, and copay cards and apply them when applicable. If we find any options that require you to apply directly with the program or manufacturer, we’ll let you know.

We continue searching for less expensive medication options even after we’ve researched savings opportunities, coordinating with your doctor to evaluate these options.

To get started or learn more about Alto, call 1-800-874-5881 or reach out through in-app messaging.

For the 25 million individuals living with asthma in the U.S., preparing for a trip or time away from home involves a few extra steps. It’s important to pack carefully and make sure you have everything you need to manage your asthma, including medication and medication delivery devices. Additionally, since environmental triggers can worsen certain types of asthma, researching your location and carefully planning your activities and accommodations is key.

A Guide to Traveling With Asthma

Use the suggestions below to prepare for your next trip and read our previous blog, Managing Your Medications While Traveling, for more on what to consider when traveling with medication.

Travel doesn’t always go as expected, so bring more of your asthma medication than you need. Plan ahead to refill your medication in advance of your trip, if needed. If you are prescribed both a quick-relief medication and a longer-term control medication, make sure you have enough of both. Depending on the severity of your asthma symptoms, you may want to order a medical identification bracelet.

Depending on your plans, you may wish to consult with your healthcare provider to discuss how your upcoming travel may impact your overall health or your asthma treatment needs. Ask if there are any recommended vaccines for your trip. 

An asthma action plan documents your individualized treatment plan. It should include what steps to take if your asthma symptoms intensify, a list of your medications and dosages, and your doctor’s contact information. If you have an existing asthma action plan, make sure it’s up to date. If you don’t already have one, work with your doctor to create one before your trip.

View the American Lung Association’s guide on creating an asthma action plan.

Before departing for your trip, review the details of your health insurance plan. Check whether your plan covers doctor’s appointments or emergency visits to a hospital or urgent care in another state or country.

If you are traveling internationally, be mindful that prescription laws vary by country. It’s a good idea to contact the U.S. embassy of the country you’re visiting for more details. Some countries may only allow a 30-day supply for certain medications and/or require you to carry an official prescription or additional information from your doctor with you.

Allergic asthma accounts for approximately 60% of all asthma cases in the U.S. With this type of asthma, inflammation in the airways and the development of asthma symptoms occurs after exposure to allergens. Common allergens, or allergic asthma triggers, include household dust mites, pet dander, and pollen.

If you have allergic asthma, there are steps you can take before your trip to prevent a flare-up of symptoms. For example, when staying in a hotel, request a room that is non-smoking and pet-free. You can also anticipate exposure to pet dander while in transit by contacting your airline or train company and asking about their policies.

There are tools that share your destination’s pollen forecast, including Accuweather and Pollen.com.

Here’s a list of potential asthma medications and medication delivery devices to pack. Some may not be relevant for your treatment plan, and if you’re unsure what to bring, ask your care team. In addition, confirm which temperature your medications should be stored at and take those guidelines into account when packing.

Enough medication for your trip, plus extra

Medication delivery devices including a nebulizer or spacer (if applicable) - if you are traveling by plane, contact your airline in advance to learn how to pack your nebulizer. If traveling internationally, make sure your device will work with power outlets in your destination.

Your health insurance card and provider’s contact information

Medications should always be packed in your carry-on rather than a checked bag. While the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s current limit on liquids, gels, and creams in a carry-on bag is 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters), there are exceptions for medications. Give yourself extra time to allow for screening of these items. If you use a nebulizer, it will likely require additional screening.

Customs officials may ask for proof of your prescription records if your medications don’t have labels or are from another country. If you are traveling internationally, carry physical proof of your prescription to avoid any issues when passing through security or customs. A prescription label or a copy of your prescription will work. (For most inhalers, the prescription label is on the box rather than the inhaler itself.)

While many pharmacy apps allow you to show digital proof of prescription records on your phone, you should have a physical label or prescription copy in case you do not have internet access.

While at your destination, always carry your quick-relief medication with you in case of an emergency. Take appropriate precautions to limit your exposure to asthma triggers. If your allergic asthma symptoms are triggered by poor air quality and pollution, checking daily air quality reports — included on many weather apps and websites — can help you prepare. Avoid exposure to smoke as much as possible.

If you are visiting a location with high temperatures, be sure to stay hydrated and consume enough fluids.

Alto Pharmacy is here every step of the way to make it easy to manage your asthma symptoms and prepare for travel. Our team of pharmacists is available to answer questions about your asthma medications, and we offer free, same-day delivery and medication management tools like reminders and auto refills in our app.

Reach out by phone at 1-800-874-5881 or in-app messaging to learn how Alto can support your asthma treatment plan.

Resources for Affording HIV Medication

The HIV treatment and prevention landscape continues to evolve, with many effective medications. Antiretroviral therapy (ART), the frontline treatment for HIV since 1997, is a combination of medications that lower the amount of HIV in your bloodstream. When taken as prescribed every day, ART can help individuals with HIV achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load. As a result, more than half of all those living with HIV in the U.S. are not at risk of transmitting the virus to others.

On the prevention front, PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, can lower risk of sexual transmission of HIV by 99% when taken daily and reduces the risk of getting HIV from intravenous drug use by about 74%.

For many individuals, cost is a barrier to both starting and continuing to take ART and PrEP as prescribed. Fortunately, HIV prevention medication and treatment continue to become more accessible, with generic PrEP options and expanded health insurance coverage of PrEP and ART. In addition, the following resources, including patient assistance programs and copay savings cards from medication manufacturers, can help reduce the cost of HIV treatment and prevention medication.

Read on to learn more about eligibility for these programs, and revisit our previous post on state-funded PrEP drug assistance programs.

Many pharmaceutical companies have patient assistance programs (PAPs) to offset the cost of prescription medications for individuals without insurance or with insufficient insurance coverage. If Alto is your pharmacy partner for HIV treatment or prevention, your medication protocol may include medications manufactured by Gilead, which offers the PAP outlined below.

If your medications are manufactured by a different company, contact them directly to learn about any available financial assistance including PAPs.

Gilead's Advancing Access® Patient Assistance Program

Gilead's Advancing Access Patient Assistance Program provides medication free of charge to individuals without insurance who meet program eligibility criteria. There are several ways to learn if you are eligible:

Call 1-800-226-2056 (Monday-Friday, 9 am to 8 pm EST)

Print the enrollment form and submit it via fax

Copay savings cards from pharmaceutical manufacturers can help offset the cost of prescription medications for individuals with insurance. If Alto is your pharmacy partner for HIV treatment or prevention, your medication protocol may include medications manufactured by Gilead or ViiV Healthcare, which offer the copay savings cards below.

If your medications are manufactured by a different company, contact them directly to learn about any available financial assistance including copay savings cards.

Gilead’s Advancing Access copay savings card

Gilead also offers a copay savings card for individuals with insurance to reduce the cost of copays. Those who are enrolled in any state or federally funded prescription medication program such as Medicare Part D and Medicaid, or who are in the Medicare Part D prescription coverage gap, are not eligible.

Learn more about program eligibility and terms and conditions.

The ViiVConnect Savings Card Program helps eligible individuals with commercial insurance save on copay costs for select ViiV Healthcare medications. Those who are enrolled in any state or federally funded prescription medication program such as Medicare Part D and Medicaid, or who are in the Medicare Part D prescription coverage gap, are not eligible.

If you do not have insurance coverage of prescription medications, contact 1-844-588-3288 to learn about additional financial assistance opportunities from ViiV.

Created to help individuals living with chronic health conditions access the treatment they need, the PAN Foundation offers financial assistance for medication costs, copays, and insurance premiums.

Learn what financial assistance you are eligible for.

The Ready, Set, PrEP program provides PrEP at no cost to eligible individuals without insurance coverage of prescription medications.

Learn more about program eligibility and the application process.

Your financial well-being is our priority

At Alto, we understand how stressful it can be to navigate insurance coverage benefits and savings opportunities. We prioritize your financial wellness, working with your doctor, your insurance (if applicable), and any third party savings programs that you may qualify for to make ART or PrEP as affordable as possible. In addition to automatically applying coupon savings, we’ll connect you with any outside programs that require you to apply directly.

We also offer free, same-day delivery to make it as easy as possible to stay on track with treatment, and our dedicated HIV support team is here to answer any questions you may have about ART or PrEP. Reach out any time via phone at 1-800-874-5881, or in-app messaging.

Alto’s launch in the Long Island market extends our industry-leading patient care model to even more of the New York metro area.

Hello, Long Island!

Alto’s launch in Long Island, New York, extends our industry-leading patient care model to even more New York-area residents.

With the addition of our latest pharmacy location in Plainview, Long Island, even more residents of the greater New York City metro area can now choose Alto’s same-day doorstep delivery for all of their pharmacy needs. Alto Long Island opens its doors today, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

At Alto, we believe it’s our job to ensure you have your medications at the best price, on time and with the support you need. We bring the pharmacy to you - no more waiting in line, making an extra trip, or finding out your prescription isn’t ready to be picked up after you’ve already arrived. Our free doorstep delivery means your medications come directly to you on the day and time you select, and most medications are available the same-day. Stay up to date on your courier’s progress with text alerts and in our mobile app. 

Starting a new medication or doing an injection for the first time? Message a pharmacist with your questions, even in the evenings and on weekends. And we’re a full service pharmacy - we stock all major brand, generic, over-the-counter and specialty medications, meaning your entire family’s pharmacy needs can be managed in the Alto app and coordinated into one delivery.

Courier delivery windows
Monday - Friday: 

12:30 – 3:30 pm ET (1:30 – 4:30 pm ET for outlying areas)*

6:00 – 9:00 pm ET (7:00 – 10:00 pm ET for outlying areas)

2:00 –5:00 pm ET (3:00 – 6:00 pm ET for outlying areas)

Need to pick up? Our new Long Island pharmacy is located at 100 Manetto Hill Road, Suite 104, in Plainview.

Monday - Friday: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm ET
Saturday - Sunday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm ET

New York residents interested in using Alto’s services for their medication needs can ask their doctor’s office to send all prescriptions to Alto Pharmacy (via ePrescribe or phone). Have existing prescriptions at another pharmacy? Start a transfer online or give us a call at 1 (800) 874-5881, and we’ll handle the switch. 

General customer support hours are Monday - Friday 9 am - 12 midnight ET and Saturday - Sunday 10 am - 9 pm ET. Patients can reach out to Alto via phone at 1 (800) 874-5881 or app.

*Weekday afternoon delivery is only available to residents of New York City's five boroughs at this time.

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