Amazon has developed a new virtual health service that allows you to consult healthcare specialists and acquire medications for common diseases without having to make a video call. Amazon Clinic is a new tool that provides a text-based solution that links you with third-party virtual care possibilities. You may choose among Amazon’s partner telehealth providers, but the goal of your consultation must be one of the ailments on the service’s approved list, which includes acne, hair loss, acid reflux, pink eye, sinusitis, and UTI. You may also utilise the programme to renew your prescriptions for diseases such as asthma, high blood pressure, and migraines.
This is just the latest product offered by Amazon in its effort to expand into the healthcare industry. In July, the e-commerce giant announced the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, which would deliver reduced prescription drugs to Prime members in 2020, and it agreed to buy primary healthcare firm One Medical for $3.9 billion. Amazon provides an app-based telemedicine service called Amazon Care to its workers and other businesses throughout the United States, but it will cease operations on December 31st. According to a previous Washington Post report, Amazon Health Services SVP Neil Lindsay told employees that while “enrolled members have loved many aspects of Amazon Care,” the service “is not a complete enough offering for the large enterprise customers [the company] has been targeting, and wasn’t going to work long-term.”
Clinic, unlike Care, was not intended to be a business service. Before taking a brief questionnaire, you’ll have to pick your ailment and your desired provider from a selection of partners at the start of your consultation on the programme. You will then be sent to a private messaging platform where you may communicate with a healthcare expert who will provide you a customised treatment plan. They may also send any required medications to your favourite pharmacy – one of which, of course, is Amazon Pharmacy. After your first conversation, you’ll be able to communicate with your healthcare expert for up to two weeks, and you may send them follow-up messages throughout that time.
While the service does not currently take insurance, you may pay with an FSA or HSA debit card and have your receipt refunded when feasible. You must pay an upfront fixed price that is determined by your condition. According to Amazon, the cost of treatment is often equal to or less than the usual copay. Medication coverage varies, but it is possible to utilise insurance to pay for it. Amazon Clinic is now only accessible in 32 states, but the business hopes to extend its presence to new states in the coming months.
