Amazon Care’s telehealth service is expanding nationwide for employees

Amazon is launching its telehealth service known as Amazon Care for its employees in all 50 states starting this summer, with the intention of extending it to other employers later this year.

“Amazon Benefits has been the corporate customer we’ve served so far. Now, looking at other businesses, understanding their needs, we think a lot of the needs are similar.” Kristen Helton, director of Amazon Care, said.

Amazon Care was launched as a pilot program two years ago to provide convenient emergency care visits for the company’s Washington employees, with free telehealth consultations and paid home visits from nurses for testing and vaccinations. Since then, the program has expanded into a primary care service.

“We have developed the ability to treat chronic conditions … you can see the same provider, you have a care team, so that group of doctors really know you and I would say that we also learn from a clinical point of view, we really need to provide clinicians with the tools they need to provide excellent care, ”Helton said.

Amazon will launch the virtual care portion of the program for its employees and other companies nationwide this year, but additional in-person services will initially be offered only in Washington State and near its new headquarters in Washington, DC, subway.

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

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

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

Amazon is targeting the employer market, following an extraordinary rise in telehealth during the Covid pandemic, which has helped fuel a number of transactions in the sector over the past six months.

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

“What we’re hearing from employers is that … they’re looking for platforms that can provide a range of services,” said analyst Charles Rhyee, CEO of Cowen & Co., adding that most telemedicine has been focused. on urgent care, “Not related to your overall health care. Virtual primary care is the next step”

All three offerings have focused on providing more integrated digital health services for employers, as large companies are increasingly looking to make health and mental health services more accessible both virtually and personally.

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

Health insurers are also committed to expanding telehealth. CVS Health runs a virtual primary care pilot with a large employer, using its Minute Clinic service, while UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare unit launched its own virtual primary care service for the employer in January.

Amazon is the new child in the employer market, but virtual primary care is also a growing business for its more established competitors, which can even a little game conditions.

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

Given Amazon’s experience in terms of big gains in retail, web services and entertainment, its healthcare investors and competitors will be closely following their movements.