US, Amazon shuts down the corporate telemedicine service Amazon Care: the business model did not work
USA, Amazon will close its corporate telemedicine service Amazon Care on 31 December 2022. According to Neil Lindsey, head of Amazon Health Services, the project’s business model did not work because the service itself was not comprehensive enough for the large customers the organisation focuses on
At the same time, Amazon will not leave the healthcare sector, as specified by the company (in July the retailer announced the $3.9 billion purchase of the US network of One Medical clinics, which, among other things, provides telemedicine services).
Lindsey says Amazon Care has provided Amazon with “a deeper understanding of what it takes to provide meaningful healthcare solutions for businesses and individuals over the long term”
The company clarified that the decision to close the Amazon Care service was made by Amazon executives prior to the July 2022 acquisition of the One Medical network of primary care clinics.
The deal to acquire this network amounted to $3.9 billion.One Medical has branches in 19 US cities, including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, and two more clinics (in Miami and Milwaukee) will open soon.
The clinic’s list of services includes laboratory tests, immunisations, paediatrics, sports medicine, health programmes and more.
The network also provides telemedicine services (through a specially developed app).
Amazon Care was launched in 2019 as a pilot programme for its employees
The service’s mobile app allows users to contact healthcare professionals for an online consultation or a home visit, as well as order medication from the nearest pharmacies.
From March 2021, it will provide services to other large companies, such as semiconductor manufacturer Silicon Labs, recruitment service TrueBlue and hotel chain Hilton.
Amazon Care’s financial statements were not disclosed
Amazon has been actively investing in projects in the field of medicine in recent years.
For example, in 2018 the company invested $1 billion in the purchase of PillPack (a US online pharmacy that provides prescription drugs to patients with chronic diseases), in 2020 it announced the launch of an online pharmacy Amazon Pharmacy, and in 2021 it announced the possibility of opening physical pharmacies in the US on the territory of the Amazon-owned supermarket chain Whole Foods.
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