Amazon is looking to expand its telecare footprint

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The technology giant is expanding Amazon Care – which currently offers its Washington-based employees access to virtual and personal health services – to its employees across the country. And it plans to offer the service to other companies as a workplace benefit for their own employees.

Amazon AMZN says the program follows a “successful launch” for tens of thousands of workers in Washington 18 months ago.
“By offering Amazon Care as a benefit, employers are investing in the health and wellbeing of perhaps their most important asset: their employees,” Amazon said in a press release on Wednesday.

Amazon Care gives employees on-demand access to virtual chats or video visits with medical providers who can provide treatment for illnesses or injuries, Covid testing and flu shots, nutritional advice, pre-pregnancy planning and a range of other services. The doctors can order prescription drugs, which Amazon delivers to patients’ homes. The program also offers in-person visits by caregivers to workers’ homes for additional services such as blood draws.

“The program’s secure, HIPAA-compliant service also allows employees and their families to see the same dedicated teams of medical professionals, creating long-lasting relationships that benefit overall health,” Amazon said, adding that an app for the service is available to give employees easy access.

Starting Wednesday, the full range of Amazon Care services will be available to employees of other Washington-based companies. This summer, the virtual services will be available to employees of Amazon and other companies around the country. Amazon also plans to expand its in-person visits offering to Washington DC, Baltimore, Maryland and other cities in the coming months.

The expanded benefit to its own employees comes as Amazon faces investigations into working conditions in its warehouses amid a union election currently underway in Bessemer, Alabama.
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Amazon is in talks with a number of companies about using Amazon Care, a spokesperson said, who has not disclosed the names of potential customers. The spokesperson also declined to share details of how much it will cost other companies to provide their employees with the service.

This is the tech giant’s latest effort to increase its healthcare presence by billions of dollars. In 2018, Amazon bought Pill Pack to start up digital drug stores for $ 700 million and last year it officially launched Amazon Pharmacy, which delivers prescriptions to customers’ homes and offers additional benefits to Prime members.

More virtual care

The move to expand Amazon Care follows a boom in telemedicine during the pandemic – research firm Gartner estimates that by 2023, virtual interactions will be more than in-person care visits.

Amazon’s access to space is likely to be of concern to other digital healthcare providers. The day after Amazon’s announcement, Goes well AMWL stock fell nearly 8% and Teladoc TDOC shares fell by 2%. The broader market fell across the board on Thursday, with tech stocks in particular selling out
Amazon’s health care ambitions have not always come true. In 2018, it partnered with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway to form Haven, a company focused on providing better health care and insurance coverage at a lower cost to the employees of the three companies – and possibly other US companies as well. The venture shut down earlier this year after struggling to gain access to businesses outside of the founding firms.

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