ST. LOUIS & DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2013-- Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) and Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) (NASDAQ:WAG) today announced the launch of Smart90® Walgreens, a new option for Express Scripts clients interested in 90-day prescription drug programs that drive lower costs and improve health outcomes for people with chronic diseases who require long-term treatment.

Under the new option, plan sponsors that choose to include Walgreens as part of the Smart90 program for their pharmacy benefit will provide their members who have chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, the choice to receive 90-day supplies of maintenance medications through home delivery from Express Scripts or directly at a Walgreens retail pharmacy for the same copayment. Pending adoption by benefit plan sponsors, plan members could access Smart90 Walgreens as early as January 2014.

"Working together with Express Scripts, Smart90 Walgreens will offer more pharmacy locations and better member access coverage than any single retail chain 90-day maintenance medication solution in the nation," said Kermit Crawford, President of Walgreens Pharmacy, Health and Wellness. "Through Smart90 Walgreens, our more than 8,000 Walgreens retail pharmacies will provide plan sponsors with cost savings and will offer their members safe, easy and convenient access to important in-person pharmacist consultations and a wide-range of health and wellness services that can further improve medication adherence and lower overall healthcare costs."

"Members will be able to continue to receive the safety, convenience, cost savings and care offered from Express Scripts home delivery pharmacies," said Glen Stettin, M.D., senior vice president of research and new solutions at Express Scripts. "Our data are clear: 90-day prescriptions delivered to a member's home improve medication adherence and health outcomes, lower the cost of care and add convenience when compared to 30-day prescriptions. Over the past few years, our Smart90 program has driven more 90-day prescriptions for participating clients, and we're pleased to now offer this additional option."

Express Scripts works with its clients -- employers, health plans, unions and government health programs that provide pharmacy benefits to American families -- to ensure plan members receive prescription drugs in the safest, most cost-effective way possible. For eligible plan sponsors who adopt a Smart90 solution, patients on maintenance medications can get a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from the Express Scripts home delivery pharmacy or exclusively through certain, participating retail pharmacies.

With Smart90 Walgreens, when members choose home delivery from Express Scripts or pickup at a Walgreens retail pharmacy, overall savings increase due to more aggressively discounted pricing on 90-day prescriptions. In addition, adherence increases because a patient's opportunity to forget to refill a prescription -- identified by Express Scripts as a major factor in nonadherence -- is far fewer, just four times per year vs. 12.

About Express Scripts:

Express Scripts manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for tens of millions of patients. On behalf of our clients - employers, health plans, unions and government health programs - we make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable. Express Scripts uniquely combines three capabilities - behavioral sciences, clinical specialization and actionable data - to create Health Decision Science