Amazon has gone live with Amazon health Care, a new pilot healthcare service offering that is initially available to its employees in and around the Seattle area.
The Amazon health Care offering includes both virtual and in-person Care, with telemedicine via the app, chat, and remote video, as well as nofollow-up visits.
And also, prescription drug delivery in person directly at an employee’s home or office.
How Amazon Health care website works
- Care’s website provides a look at the app that Amazon developed for the telemedicine component.
- It shows the flow for choosing between text chat and video and a summary of Care provided through the service.
- With invoices, diagnosis, and treatment plans all available for patients review.
- Amazon lists Care as an option for a “first stop,”
- Its ability to handle things like colds, infections, minor injuries, preventative consultations, lab work, vaccinations, contraceptives, STI testing, and general questions.
- However, It sounds like they cover many of what you’d handle at your general practitioner.
- And also, before being recommended for any more specialist or advanced medical treatment or expertise.
Current eligibility is limited to Amazon’s employees enrolled in the company’s health insurance plan and located in the pilot service geographical area. - And also, The service is currently available between 8 AM and 9 PM local time, Monday through Friday, and between 8 AM and 6 PM Saturday and Sunday.
Amazon acquired PillPack
- Last year, an online pharmacy startup, for around $753 million and appears to be part of their core value proposition with Amazon Care.
- It features couriered prescribed medications and remotely communicated treatment plans.
- However, Amazon may be limiting this pilot to employees at launch.
- The highly publicized nature of their approach and product development developed the initial app, user experience, and brand.
- All indicate that it has the broader U.S. market in mind as a potential expansion opportunity down the line.
- And also, Recent reports suggest that it’s going to play in consumer health with new wearable fitness tracking devices.
- That could very nicely complement insurance and healthcare services offered at the enterprise and individual level.
- Perhaps not coincidentally, Walgreens, CVS, and McKesson stock market write for us were all trading down today.
Amazon’s healthcare strategy
1. Firstly, Amazon is among the tech giants making the most significant impact on healthcare.
Coupled with its vast number of users and sellers, it can be a fertile testing ground for future healthcare applications.
It also has an estimated 5 million sellers and 310 million active users, including 100 million Amazon Prime members.
2. Haven has been relatively quiet since launching its website on March 6, 2019.
JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon revealed that the company had hired 50 people to begin problem solving but that their strategy was a “long-term effort.
3. In March, Amazon made a $2 million investment in Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to test artificial intelligence tools.
The two had partnered since 2016 when Beth Israel bought AWS’s cloud software and reported significant improvements in operating efficiency.
4. Amazon’s Alexa became HIPAA compliant in 2019, according to an April 4 Amazon blog post.
The company launched software for its voice assistant technology designed to transmit and receive protected health information.
5. Amazon Prime users began to receive email marketing about PillPack, an online pharmacy service Amazon acquired in 2018 April.
Then, it reveals in December that Amazon is attempting to convince more big-name insurers to integrate its pharmacy services into their health benefit plans.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is already in line for integration.
The partnership plans to use AWS artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide insights into player injuries.
And also, How equipment, game rules, and rehabilitation strategies can affect player health.