An employee assembles a box for delivery at the Amazon fulfillment center in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30, 2019
Clodagh Kilcoyne | Reuters
Amazon is rolling out its telecare service, known as Amazon Care, to its employees in all 50 states starting this summer and plans to expand it to other employers later this year.
“Amazon Benefits is the business customer we’ve served so far. Now that we look at other companies 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 practically provide the company’s employees in Washington State with convenient emergency care visits, with free tele-health and paid home visits from nurses for testing and vaccinations. The program has since evolved into more of a primary care system.
“We’ve developed the ability to treat chronic conditions … you can see the same healthcare provider, have a healthcare team, so that that group of clinicians really get to know you and I would say we’re also learning on the clinical side, we really need to be clinicians. provide the means to provide excellent care, ”said Helton.
Amazon will roll out the virtual care portion of the program this year for its employees and other businesses around the country, but the added personal services will initially only be offered in Washington State and near its new second headquarters in Washington, DC, metro area. .
The move comes two months after Amazon said it would wind down Haven, its joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan. Haven was touted three years ago as an incubator to improve health programs for employers.
In the meantime, Amazon developed and launched its own online pharmacy following the 2018 acquisition of PillPack. Last year, the company partnered with employer health care provider Crossover Health to launch personal employee health clinics, which now serve Amazon employees at 17 locations in Texas. , Arizona, Kentucky, California and Michigan.
The pharmacy, employee clinics and Amazon Care are run within Amazon as independent health initiatives. When asked if she thinks the company will put together some of the services for other employers, Helton said she “doesn’t speculate on how this will evolve.”
Telehealth market for employers
Amazon is targeting the employer market following a boom in telecare during the Covid pandemic that contributed to a string of deals in the industry over the past six months.
In October, Teladoc reached an $ 18 billion deal to acquire diabetes management company Livongo. Last month, Cigna’s Evernorth division announced that the virtual healthcare platform is acquiring MDLive for an undisclosed amount. This week, private telemedicine provider Dr. on Demand announces that it will merge with Grand Rounds, which provides navigation services for healthcare.
“What we hear from employers is that… they are looking for platforms that can deliver a range of services,” explains analyst Charles Rhyee, managing director at Cowen & Co. explains, adding that most telemedicine focused on emergency care. “Not really connected to your overall health care. Virtual primary care is that next step.”
All three deals focused on providing more integrated digital health services for employers as large companies increasingly strive to make medical and mental health services more accessible both virtually and in person.
“I think what we’ve learned is we’ll probably end up with a hybrid model; where we sometimes go to the doctor, when we need surgery, when we need imaging, when we’re not sure what’s going on. is going on with you, “said Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at venture firm Venrock, who serves as a board observer at Dr. on Demand and Grand Rounds.” In between, many visits will take place virtually. “
Health insurers are also responding to the expansion of telecare. CVS Health is running a virtual primary care pilot with a major employer using the Minute Clinic service, while UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare launched its own virtual primary care service for the employer in January.
Amazon is the new kid on the block in the employer market, but Virtual Primary Care is also a business evolving ahead of its more established competitors, which might even be the playing field a bit.
“Healthcare is an incredibly large space, and there are many possibilities. We see that there is room for more than one winner in the space,” said Helton.
Given Amazon’s track record of big profits in retail, web services, and entertainment, investors and its healthcare competitors will be watching its moves closely.