Odds are, if you live in the United States, you’ve interacted with Amazon in one way or another recently. What started as an online bookstore now touches nearly every area of life, including healthcare. It’s important to examine exactly what Amazon’s role in healthcare looks like, and how it could impact the industry.
Amazon’s Role in Healthcare: A Brief History
Amazon’s earliest move into the healthcare industry came in 2018 when they acquired an online pharmacy, PillPack, and rebranded it as Amazon Pharmacy. The next year, in 2019, Amazon launched its primary care service for employees, Amazon Care. All operations of Amazon Care ended in late 2022 with the explanation that it wasn’t the right long-term solution for the customers it served. This appears to have been a strategic move, however, as it came just a month after Amazon announced a deal to buy One Medical, a primary care provider that serves more than 8,000 employers. This acquisition also gives Amazon a presence in the Medicare space for the first time.
There have been rumors in recent years that Amazon is also pursuing the acquisition of a home health technology and services provider, although nothing solid has come to be yet. However, Amazon’s presence in the healthcare industry continues to grow with their fitness band, the Amazon Halo, Amazon Web Services being used for applications in healthcare, and the launch of Amazon Clinic in November 2022. Amazon Clinic, now nationwide, is a virtual clinic that connects patients with providers 24/7 to address common conditions.
How Amazon’s Role in Healthcare Impacts the Industry
Amazon is well known for their service, prices, access, and convenience. One would assume that as Amazon brings these characteristics into the healthcare space, it will push more traditional practices to make changes to keep up. To begin with, the customer-focused style of Amazon, translated to patient-focused in the healthcare industry, is likely to drive practices to adopt patient-centered care more rapidly.
It’s also possible that we’ll see an uptick in practice buyouts due to the vast resources Amazon has at their disposal since their acquisition of One Medical. It’s likely that Amazon will want to continue growth and expansion with this venture and will be on the lookout for practices to add to the fold.
Finally, since Amazon Clinic has now expanded to nationwide availability, patients have another option for urgent care of common conditions. This simply means that PCPs must communicate with their patients about the importance of notifying their provider of any outside care to maintain a comprehensive health record.
Many practices may feel uneasy about Amazon’s growing role in healthcare and the possible disruption it may pose to the industry, but this push for growth can be seen as a positive for patient care overall. At Henry Schein SolutionsHub, we know how important it is for practices to stay in touch with the latest care delivery trends and modalities. This is why we work so hard to bring you state-of-the-art solutions that will help you take your practice to the next level.
