Amazon Attempts To Outflank Telehealth Leaders With Service Combining Online, Offline Options

Amazon has announced the national rollout of its mixed model (on and offline) care delivery program, a clear attempt to outflank competitors offering strictly virtual services.

Without a doubt, this is big news, but the ultimate success of this model isn’t as obvious as you might think.

The announcement brings up some big questions. Will this be the strategy that brings together the puzzle pieces Amazon has been putting together over the past couple of years? Is this the moment when the $753 million Amazon spent on online pharmacy PillPack really proves its value?

But first, let’s look at the basic facts. The e-retail giant recently announced plans for a major expansion of Amazon Care, a new, expanded service that combines telehealth, prescription delivery and in-person care-delivery visits. This bundle includes COVID-19 and flu testing, vaccinations, preventive care and sexual health.

Medical services will be delivered by Care Medical, an independent medical practice.

The service, which launched 18 months ago, was originally available only to Amazon employees. Over the new few months, Amazon will offer it to employers in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and other selected cities. By this summer, Amazon expects to roll the program to interested employers across the U.S.

Hmmm. On the one hand, this mixed model gives patients far more of what they need from a single source. And I can say first-hand that it can be lovely to have a system offering this kind of convenience. My previous insurer, staff-model HMO Kaiser Permanente, offers most of these services under one roof (other than in-home visits), and it was very appealing.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how the mechanics of being Amazon meshes with the mindset of healthcare delivery. While Amazon Care might be a popular option among patients, I’m not sure it will meet employers’ increasing taste for integrated delivery networks.

This points up a question that Amazon will have to address, which is whether creating an independent system around primary care is advantageous for employers. After all, while primary care, well done, can save money, that’s less the case when the primary care isn’t well integrated with the rest of the care spectrum.  This approach in effect carves out primary care benefits independently rather than integrating care modalities further as is generally the goal.

Also, it’s also worth considering here is whether Amazon will actually let providers do their job. At least in the case of the less skilled positions, the company is well known for being what could at best be called brutally efficient.

While clinicians already feel, not unreasonably, that they are being measured and managed too much, they might see a whole new level of controls put into place when working with the tech giant. Yes, Amazon doesn’t own Care Medical, the group which will deliver patient services, but have little doubt that it will make its demands known. Let’s see how that power struggle goes!

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

   

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