Amazon continues its foray into the healthcare industry with a new telemedicine platform; The aptly named Amazon Clinic.
The service arrives just four months after the tech giant announced it was buying a healthcare company One Medical for $3.9 billion. Through this partnership, Amazon Clinic (Opens in a new tab) It will offer digital health services and direct access to the company’s physicians for 23 “common health conditions” including allergies, hair loss and migraines.
The Amazon Clinic is not supposed to take on the duties of a primary physician and will not treat the most severe cases. The purpose of the platform is to help people with afflictions that require special care but can be easily addressed online. For more complex scenarios, doctors will advise you to seek personal care.
The announcement states that only 32 states will have access to Amazon Care, but there are plans to expand to all 50 states. The 18 states without Amazon Care include Arizona, Delaware, Mississippi, New York and West Virginia.
How it works
To get help, first go to Amazon Clinic homepage (Opens in a new tab) And pick something like “seasonal allergies,” for example. From there, you choose the state you live in (assuming the service is available to you) and choose an online clinic. You answer a few questions about what you’re going through, the information is reviewed, and your doctor gets back to you within a few hours. There is no subscription fee to use Amazon Clinic, but you do have to pay the doctors themselves.
The service does not support insurance; Although, you can pay through an FSA (flexible spending account) or HSA (health savings account). Also, the fees you will pay do not include the cost of medicines; That’s extra. According to the announcement, Amazon plans to accept the insurance at some point in the future.
All consultations are done” through a secure message-based portal, Bid [you] Flexibility in messages [your] Doctor” anytime you want. There are no video calls or live chats. From the portal, the healthcare provider will send a “personalized treatment plan… including any necessary prescriptions…” which can be filled at your local pharmacy. You won’t have to use Amazon pharmacy (Opens in a new tab) But using it is definitely an option.
Amazon Clinic also offers prescription renewals, though the selection is very limited. It only covers five types of prescription medications including asthma and high blood pressure medications. But the process is still the same: answer a few questions and you’ll get a response hours later.
We asked Amazon if there are plans for global expansion and if video calls will be supported. This story will be updated if we hear back.
change of scenery
The first question that is likely to come to everyone’s mind is “Is this platform safe?” The company states that Amazon Clinic will “comply with HIPAA and all other applicable laws and regulations” to ensure that user data is kept secure. Plus, this isn’t Amazon’s first healthcare rodeo.
before that, Amazon Care has helped businesses Provide healthcare benefits to its employees. However, that The service will stop working by December 31 (Opens in a new tab) Because it was very limited in the scope of the company. It will be interesting to see how much impact Amazon Clinic has. Providing rapid virtual health services can help deliver personalized care by reducing burden and providing short waiting times.
If you’re interested in other types of remote care, be sure to read TechRadar’s list of Best telemedicine software for 2022.
