Amazon bringing 24/7 healthcare to Prime members
By Callie Troutman, MPH, MS, RDN, CHES, Associate Director, Learning Strategy; Imre Varju MD, PhD, MPH, CHES, VP, Learning Strategy; Sophie Blais Banspach, MPH, Learning Strategist at YuzuYello
Our authors have updated this thought leadership piece based on the latest Amazon healthcare news.
Amazon is making it clear: healthcare access is a business priority. This year alone, Amazon has made multiple new healthcare moves – from discounted generic medications and automatically applied drug coupon to coverage expansions for its virtual healthcare marketplace.
And even as 2023 comes to a close, Amazon isn’t done. This November, Amazon announced its newest healthcare benefit for Prime members: 24/7 access to high quality, primary care with One Medical.
For just $9/month or $99/year, Amazon Prime members can:
- Receive on-demand virtual care nationwide, including video chats with licensed providers within minutes
- Easily schedule in-person office visits at any of One Medical’s locations for a same- or next-day check-up
- Add up to 5 family members for an additional $6/month each
This new service, paired with Amazon’s other 2023 healthcare launches, displays the company’s drive to provide easy and affordable ways to get and stay healthy. The next question is – what’s in store for 2024?
In March, Amazon Pharmacy launches a new feature: automatically applied coupons on brand-name drugs. For eligible patient orders, manufacturer-sponsored coupons will be applied at checkout on the Amazon Pharmacy website and app.1
This collaboration with several drugmakers will help make savings more accessible to patients, as recent studies find only 15% of patients use manufacturer-sponsored coupons.2 "Patients will no longer have to find and apply coupons, allowing them to focus on managing their care,” says Vin Gupta, Amazon Pharmacy’s Chief Medical Officer.
This rollout comes shortly after Amazon’s recent launch with RxPass in January. RxPass allows Prime members in 42 states who are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid to pay just $5/month for eligible generic medications.3
The Amazon road to healthcare
November 2023: Amazon introduces new healthcare benefit for prime members, offering 24/7 access to virtual care with One Medical.
August 2023: Amazon Clinic expands its virtual healthcare marketplace nationwide.
March 2023: Amazon Pharmacy launches a new feature to automatically apply manufacturer-coupons at checkout for eligible patient orders.
January 2023: Amazon announced RxPass that gives Prime subscribers access to over 50 generic medications for $5/month.
Amazon Care:
August 2022: Amazon announced it would be shutting down Amazon Care for all employers by the end of the year.
Amazon Care – Behavioral Health:
August 2022 : Amazon announced partnership with digital mental health company Ginger.
Amazon Care - Primary Care:
July 2022: Amazon announced acquisition of primary care provider One Medical.
Amazon Care - At home visits:
February 2022: Amazon announced at-home care services are expanding to more than 20 new cities (see below) in 2022, bringing even more care options to Amazon Care’s growing customer base.
Amazon Care - Telehealth:
Launched in 2019 as a telehealth provider to Amazon employees. In 2021, they extended the service to all Washington state businesses and now has been expanded nationwide to other companies.
In November 2021, Amazon announced they will provide all Hilton employees access to Amazon Care.
Amazon Diagnostics:
May 2021: Amazon announced they will be making at-home Covid-19 testing kits and will possibly expand to other respiratory infections.
Amazon Pharmacy:
November 2020: Amazon announced two new pharmacy offerings for customers to purchase medications:
- Amazon Pharmacy: a new store on Amazon that allows customers to purchase medications, manage insurance prescriptions.
- Prime Rx: Prime members who do not have insurance can save money at both the Amazon pharmacy as well as at over 50,000 other participating pharmacies nationwide.
Amazon Together / Amazon Care Hub:
Alexa is a HIPAA compliant device which opens the door to healthcare applications.
November 2020: Alexa Care Hub, a service meant “to help aging customers maintain independence and provide assurance to family members.” It ties two Echo Dots, Echo Shows, or other Echos together so families could check on elderly loved ones at any time.
September 2021: Alexa Care Hub was rolled into Alexa Together- a subscription service that includes features like:
- If a senior says, “Alexa, call for help,” Amazon will connect them to someone who can can get them help or call an ambulance.
- Fall detection: Alexa Together includes fall detection devices from Vayyar and SkyAngelCare. If a person falls while wearing a device, a message is sent through the Echo to the Urgent Response team.
PillPack:
These launches and announcements follow the Amazon acquisition of PillPack in 2018.
What is Amazon Care?
As with everything Amazon does, their goal (and headline) is: Healthcare Made Easy. As of last summer, around 40,000 people were enrolled in Amazon Care, most of which were Amazon employees, but it’s expected with 2022 expansions, this number will greatly increase as enrollment has been expanded beyond Amazon.4
In 2019, Amazon created their own telehealth platform for Amazon employees. Was this a test for them to see how they can compete in the telehealth market? To work out any kinks in a protected space? And they didn’t partner with one of the major telehealth companies, rather they built their own platform. And it’s built to meet various needs of the users.
There are 2 main parts to the service:
1) Virtual Care, which connects patients to medical professionals via the Amazon Care app (available for both Android and iOS) and allows patients to quickly, conveniently, and confidently chat live with a nurse or doctor, via in-app messaging or video.
2) In-person care, where Amazon Care can dispatch a medical professional to a patient’s home for additional care, ranging from routine blood draws to listening to a patient’s lungs, and also offer prescription delivery right to a patient’s door.5
If the patient is in a market that has at-home services and they require an in-person visit with a provider, Amazon Care deploys a mobile clinician who shows up at the user’s door typically in 60 minutes...according to Amazon. The service also can deliver medications to users within 120 minutes.6
At-home locations expected by the end of 2022 include:
Community, accessibility, empathetic care
Often times with telehealth, it feels the objective of the service is just convenience. But Amazon is going further - focusing on the whole patient - and addressing what has felt like a void in recent medical interventions.
On the website, you can watch a video to hear their mission as told by their practitioners.
Amazon Web Services is also powering the pharma industry
Amazon also is a major player and supports 9 of the 10 top pharma with their AWS platform. With over 130 HIPAA-eligible services, they support pharma throughout the drug development and commercialization process. But that’s a POV for another day!7
What does this Amazon Care mean for pharma?
As will all telehealth providers, patients are by-passing HCP offices. HCPs may not be detailed and we have less opportunities to reach patients at the point of care. But remember, a patient may use telehealth for one indication, but can certainly show up in the doctor’s office for a different indication.
So as always, pharma needs to be where the patient is. Whether that’s digital, out of home or at the pharmacy. And provide them with the tools, resources and support to get the best possible outcomes.
References
1 Amazon introduces new healthcare benefit for Prime members
2 Prescription drug coupon study
3 Amazon deepens healthcare push