What Amazon Clinic Will Mean for Consumers and the Online Retail Giant

It didn’t take long for Amazon to get over the closing of its Amazon Care telehealth primary care service for its employees and other employers. Just three months later, the company has launched Amazon Clinic, a virtual message-based service that connects consumers with third-party telehealth providers (including ones from SteadyMD and HealthTap) for diagnosis and treatment of 20 common health conditions including allergies, acne and hair loss.

Consumers using the site are asked to complete a questionnaire to receive a treatment plan with estimated response time from a licensed clinician. Prices for services vary by provider and the site is initially operating in 32 states, with plans to expand into additional states.

Other Highlights of the Service Include:

• Up-front pricing.
• Prescription writing by providers, with fulfillment by Amazon Pharmacy.
• Follow-up messaging with the provider for up to two weeks after the consultation.
• Services will be provided 24/7 on Amazon.com and through the Amazon mobile app.

Yet, for all the consumer-friendly aspects of the platform, Amazon Clinic does not yet accept insurance.

Amazon Clinic is designed to be a complementary business to Amazon’s purchase of primary care provider One Medical once that deal closes. Whether Amazon will, in some way, provide a link between Amazon Clinic and One Medical remains to be seen, but the online clinic could provide a way for providers to break into virtual care without having to create its own digital front door. Both businesses also will fulfill Amazon’s goal of broadening its access to patient data.