WATCH: How Amazon is taking on the healthcare industry
- On Wednesday, Business Insider reported that Amazon wants to run primary care for other large employers.
- It plans to do that through Amazon Care, which is still in pilot mode and currently serves Amazon's own workers.
- The plans shed light on how Amazon's broader ambitions could disrupt the healthcare industry.
- Healthcare editor Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer and healthcare reporter Blake Dodge spoke with readers in a webinar about where the tech giant is heading in healthcare.
Amazon's healthcare push is heating up.
On Wednesday, Business Insider reported that Amazon is planning to provide online and in-person primary care to workers at other companies. They plan to do that through Amazon Care, a service that is still in pilot mode and currently serves Amazon's own workers.
Investors took note. Telehealth stocks like Teladoc and Amwell sunk after the article was published, as did a number of massive health insurers. (Teladoc's stock has largely recovered since.)
The story closely followed the announcement of Amazon Pharmacy in November, which offers prescription and generic drug delivery, and discounts on both for Prime members that don't pay with insurance.
Pharmacy and Care are just two parts of Amazon's healthcare strategy. Through Amazon's AI assistant, Alexa, wearables like Halo, extensive data work with health systems, and secretive projects searching for a cure for the common cold, the company is attacking the industry from all sides.
Healthcare editor Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer sat down with reporter Blake Dodge, who broke the story about Amazon Care, to answer questions from readers and discuss Amazon's healthcare ambitions on Friday:
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