Amazon’s Growth In Healthcare Is Unparalleled

Earlier this month, famed tech and e-commerce company Amazon announced that it will be expanding its in-person healthcare model nationwide, as demand for the retail giant’s healthcare services is surging.

The press release explains: “Amazon Care launched in September 2019 to bring the most patient-centric health care to customers when and where they need it. Amazon Care combines the best of virtual care and in-person services, and as more and more organizations look for convenient, comprehensive, high-quality health care solutions, we’re seeing growing demand and excitement for Amazon Care’s unique hybrid care offering.”

Kristen Helton, director of Amazon Care, further discusses the growing demand: “Patients are tired of a health care system that doesn’t put them first. Our patient-centric service is changing that, one visit at a time […] We’ve brought our on-demand urgent and primary care services to patients nationwide. As we grow the service, we’ll continue to work with our customers to address their needs.”

Undoubtedly, this initiative is well positioned to reinvent modern healthcare delivery. Amazon has time and again proven its success in disrupting legacy industries. The company has single-handedly changed the face of retail into an entirely novel e-commerce economy, comprising of new ways to deliver consumer goods, groceries, medications, and now, healthcare.

Importantly, the Amazon Care concept is not the company’s only rapidly growing venture in healthcare. Another notable initiative is Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s robust cloud technology platform which fuels some of the largest healthcare organizations and companies in the world, including Rush Medicine, Moderna, the Government of New South Wales, Philips, the National Health Service of the U.K., etc.

Furthermore, Amazon continues to relentlessly innovate. On the health hardware front, the company has invested significant resources in the development of Halo Band, an intuitive wearable that tracks health metrics. This has provided Amazon an easy and logical entry point into the booming personal health and fitness space. The device offers a variety of services including analysis of sleep, body composition, nutrition, and activity tracking, to name a few.

Finally, Amazon is committed to invest in the future of healthcare. Last year, AWS announced the launch of a healthcare accelerator with a goal “to cultivate and promote innovative startup solutions that achieve the Quadruple Aim of improved patient experience, improved clinician experience, better health outcomes, and lower cost of care. In seeking out compliant data-driven healthcare solutions, AWS will support public sector healthcare enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation.” This initiative provides Amazon an intimate opportunity to work with some of the industry’s most cutting-edge innovators at an early stage.

Indeed, there is still a long story ahead for Amazon with regards to healthcare. Time will tell how the tech giant will change the face of the industry for generations to come.