Amazon has rebranded its US-based telehealth offering from Amazon Clinic to Amazon One Medical.
The retail giant moved into the telehealth space 18 months ago with the launch of Amazon Clinic on Amazon.com and via a mobile app. Available in all 50 US states, the service has offered telehealth consultation for common conditions such as eczema and sinus infections on a pay-per-visit basis.
As Amazon One Medical, users still have the option to pay-per-visit for virtual care appointments – at $29 for messaging visits and $49 for video – but the big shakeup in the rebrand lies in Amazon’s introduction of a subscription-based service model.
Amazon is playing up pay-per-visit as part of its offering for those with an occasional need for a healthcare consultation while membership is being highlighted as a means by which people with longer-term healthcare issues can have their needs met.
Available at $9 per month or $99 annually for Prime members, or $199 per year for all other customers, the membership option gives users access to on-demand virtual care 24/7.
Video chat and ‘Treat Me Now’ services for immediate needs are available in the One Medical app, while users can also message their care team, access healthcare records, and manage prescriptions.
In addition, users can now book same and next-day remote or in-person appointments at over 150 One Medical locations across the US. Amazon acquired the primary healthcare provider for $3.9bn in 2022.
Scheduled remote and in-person appointments, however, are not covered by the membership fee and are billed to insurance or paid out-of-pocket.
“We’re focused on improving both the occasional and ongoing medical care experience,” said senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, Neil Lindsay.
“With Amazon One Medical, customers can choose the medical care service that best meets their needs – a single visit for occasional, common conditions, or a membership that supports access to ongoing care with an app that makes things like getting on-demand virtual care, appointments and managing prescriptions fast and simple."
The evolution of Amazon’s telehealth provision resonates with recent views expressed by the medical director of Johns Hopkins Medicine's Office of Telemedicine, Dr Helen Hughes.
“For most primary and speciality healthcare needs, telemedicine makes sense when it is part of a coordinated hybrid care delivery model that can offer patients both telemedicine and in-person options,” Hughes told Medical Device Network.
Amazon’s telehealth rebrand follows the recent shuttering of Optum and Walmart’s telehealth offerings.
On April 30, Walmart issued a statement that said it had decided to close its virtual care services having determined there was not a “sustainable business model” for it to continue.
Despite the setback for Optum and Walmart, telehealth remains forecast to hit a global value of $3.8bn by 2030, as per GlobalData analysis.
