Amazon Care’s telecare service is expanding nationwide for employees

Amazon will roll out its telehealth service known as Amazon Care to its employees in all 50 states starting this summer with plans to expand it to other employers later this year.

“Amazon Benefits has been the business customer we’ve been serving so far. Now, looking at other companies, understanding their needs, we believe 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 offer hands-on urgent care visits to virtually company employees in Washington state, with free telecare consultations and home visits by nurses for testing and vaccines. Since then, the program has expanded into more than one primary care service.

“We have developed the ability to treat chronic conditions … you can see the same provider, have a care team, so this group of doctors knows you and I would say we are also learning on the clinical side, I really need to provide clinicians with the tools to provide excellent care, ”Helton said.

Amazon will deploy the virtual care portion of the program for its employees and other businesses across the country this year, but the face-to-face services initially added will only be offered in Washington state and near its second headquarters in the United States. Washington, DC metropolitan area. .

The move comes two months after Amazon said it would end Haven, its joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan. Haven had been promoted three years ago as an incubator to improve employers ’health programs.

Meanwhile, Amazon has developed and launched its own online pharmacy, after acquiring PillPack in 2018. Last year, the company partnered with business healthcare provider Crossover Health to launch in-person employee health clinics. , which now serve Amazon workers at 17 locations in Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, California and Michigan.

Pharmacy, employee clinics, and Amazon Care are developed as independent healthcare initiatives on Amazon. Asked if she expects the company to pool some of the services to other employers, Helton said she “will not speculate on how this will evolve.”

Amazon is targeting the business market, following huge growth in telehealth during the Covid pandemic that has helped fuel a number of offerings in the industry over the past six months.

In October, Teladoc reached a $ 18 billion deal to acquire diabetes control firm Livongo. Last month, Swan’s Evernorth division announced it would acquire the MDLive virtual care platform for an undisclosed amount. This week, private telemedicine provider Dr. on Demand, announced that it would merge with Grand Rounds, which provides sanitary navigation services.

“What we hear from employers is that … they are looking for platforms that can offer a set of services,” explained analyst Charles Rhyee, managing director of Cowen & Co., adding that most telemedicine has been focused on urgent care, “it’s not really connected to general health care. Virtual primary care is the next step.”

All three offerings focused on providing more integrated digital health services for entrepreneurs, as large companies seek to make medical and mental health services more accessible virtually and in person.

“I think what we’ve learned is that we’ll probably end up with a hybrid model; where sometimes we go to the doctor’s office, when we need a procedure, when we need to do pictures, when you’re not sure what’s going on with you,” Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock, who serves as a board observer on Dr. on Demand and Grand Rounds. “A lot of visits, in between, will be done virtually.”

Health insurers are also beginning to expand telecare. CVS Health is conducting a virtual primary care pilot with a large employer using the Minute Clinic service, while UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare unit launched its own virtual primary care service for employers.

Amazon is the new guy in the business market, but virtual primary care is also a developing business for its more established competitors, who may even get to have a bit of a game.

“Healthcare is an incredibly large space and there are a lot of opportunities. We see that there is room for more than one winner in the space,” Helton said.

Given Amazon’s track record in winning big retail sales, web services and entertainment, investors and their healthcare competitors will be closely watching their moves.