Amazon expands its virtual health clinic nationwide
Amazon is expanding its Amazon Clinic virtual healthcare marketplace to all customers nationwide. The online retail giant announced today that customers in all 50 states and Washington, DC will be able to easily access licensed clinicians via video visits for more than 30 common health concerns, such as pink eye and urinary tract infections.
Amazon Clinic launched in November 2022 as a way to connect users with healthcare providers. Amazon Clinic does not provide the healthcare services itself and instead supplies a platform to connect telemedicine partners with users.
To get treatment via the service, customers need to visit Amazon Clinic on the Amazon website or Amazon mobile app. From there, customers can compare response times and prices from multiple telehealth provider groups, complete an intake form and then connect with their chosen provider.
Depending on the state in which a customer is located, they can connect via messaging or video call without an appointment or insurance. Through Amazon Clinic’s secure message portal or video call, the clinician will provide a recommended treatment plan, which may include a prescription. Customers can choose to fill their medication at Amazon Pharmacy with free shipping or at any other pharmacy.
“By creating a healthcare experience that is transparent and simple, we hope to make health care more accessible for all,” Dr. Nworah Ayogu, the Chief Medical Officer and General Manager at Amazon Clinic, said in a blog post. “We’re excited to bring Amazon Clinic to even more customers, and we’re working hard to make even more conditions available for treatment in the coming months.”
Amazon has been trying to break into the healthcare industry for years. The online retail giant launched and then shut down a telehealth service called Amazon Care. Amazon also closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of healthcare provider OneMedical earlier this year. Plus, the company launched Amazon Pharmacy off the back of its acquisition of PillPack.
In 2018, it formed a JV with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to build an employee healthcare operation, appointing a high-profile doctor to lead it. That service never appeared to take shape as expected and shut up shop in 2021.