Walgreens adds two features to its mobile app

More than $290 billion.

Billion, with a "b." That's how much non-adherence to medications costs the U.S. health care system every year, says a Walgreens press release.

Walgreens is making it easier for its iPhone app-using patients to remember to take their medications. With "Pill Reminder" on the Walgreens iPhone mobile app, users can track medication schedules and receive daily, hourly, weekly or other customized alerts. It's as simple as scanning the prescription barcode and selecting reminder options. Patients can add multiple medications, vitamins and supplements to the same alert.

Android and iPhone users can also use the app to transfer prescriptions from another pharmacy to Walgreens. "Transfer by Scan" is as simple as taking a picture of the medication bottle, providing name, date of birth and phone number and clicking to send it to Walgreens.

The company's "Refill by Scan" was an industry first when it was introduced in November 2010 and is now the most-used feature in the app, with more than 40 percent of online refills reaching Walgreens that way.

The company says use of its mobile app increased almost 500 percent last year and more than 2 million customers receive mobile alerts when prescriptions need to be refilled or picked up.

"Mobile is an important channel for us and brings great opportunities for technology innovation and providing pharmacy features to millions of our mobile customers," says Sona Chawla, Walgreens president of E-commerce. "We've extended the convenience of Walgreens pharmacy through a number of intuitive, easy-to-use tools that can be very effective in helping patients better manage and improve their overall health."

Mashable recently named the Walgreens app one of "six branded mobile apps on the cutting edge of innovation."