A worker collects a box for delivery at the Amazon Filling Center in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 30, 2019
Clodagh Kilcoyne | Reuters
Amazon is launching its telecom health service known as Amazon Care for its employees in all 50 states, and is launching plans this summer to expand it to other employers later this year.
“Amazon Benefits has been the customer of the business we have served so far. If we look at other businesses and understand their needs, we think many of the needs are similar,” Kristen Helton, director of Amazon Care, said.
Amazon Care was launched two years ago as a pilot program to provide practical urgent care visits for company employees in the state of Washington, with free telehealth consultations and home visits against nurses for testing and vaccinations. The program has since expanded to become more of a primary care service.
“We have developed the ability to treat chronic conditions … you can see the same provider, have a care team, so that the group of clinicians really get to know you and I would say, we also learn on the clinical side, we really need clinicians provide the tools to provide excellent care, ”said Helton.
Amazon will launch part of the virtual care program for its employees and other businesses nationwide this year, but the added personal services will initially be offered only in Washington state and near its new second headquarters in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. .
The move comes two months after Amazon said it was terminating its joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan. Haven was presented three years ago as an incubator to improve employers’ health programs.
In the meantime, Amazon has developed and launched its own online pharmacy following the acquisition of PillPack in 2018. Last year, the company partnered with an employer, Crossover Health, to start personalized clinics for employees, which now has Amazon employees on 17 sites serve Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, California and Michigan.
The pharmacy, employee clinics and Amazon Care operate as independent health care initiatives within Amazon. Asked if she intends the company to put together some of the services for other employers, Helton said she “will not speculate on how it will develop.”
Telecom health market for employers
Amazon is targeting the employer market following the tremendous growth in telehealth during the Covid pandemic, which has fueled a series of transactions in the sector over the past six months.
In October, Teladoc reached a $ 18 billion deal to acquire the diabetes management company Livongo. Last month, Cigna’s Evernorth division announced that it would acquire the MDLive virtual care platform for an unknown amount. This week, the private telemedicine provider Dr. on Demand announced that it is merging with Grand Rounds, which provides healthcare services navigation.
“What we hear from employers is that … they are looking for platforms that can provide a range of services,” explained analyst Charles Rhyee, managing director of Cowen & Co., adding that most telemedicine is in urgent need care is focused. “not really linked to your general health care. Virtual primary care is the next step.”
All three transactions were focused on providing more integrated digital health services to employers, as large companies increasingly strive to make medical and mental health services accessible, both virtually and personally.
“I think what we’ve learned is that a hybrid model is probably what we’re going to end up with; where we sometimes go to the doctor’s office, when we have to do a procedure, when we have to do the imaging, when we know not what’s going on with you, “says Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at Ventrock, a consulting firm at Dr. On Demand and Grand Rounds.” In between, many visits will be made virtually. “
Health insurers are also starting to expand telehealth. CVS Health is running a virtual primary care shed at a major employer using its Minute Clinic service, while UnitedHealth Group’s unit UnitedHealthcare launched its own virtual primary care employer in January.
Amazon is the new kid in the employer market, but virtual primary care is also an evolving enterprise for its more established competitors, which can play even a bit of a playing field.
“Healthcare is an incredibly large space and there are many opportunities. We see there is room for more than one winner in the space,” Helton said.
Given Amazon’s record for conquering retail, web services and entertainment, investors and its healthcare competitors will be watching its move closely.