Citing growing demand and a general expansion of its efforts in the healthcare space, Amazon is rolling out it Amazon Care platform following a series of successful pilots last year.
In an announcement on Tuesday (Feb. 8) the company said it has now made virtual healthcare services nationwide, with plans to expand in-person services in more than 20 U.S. cities this year.
“The expansion comes as we continue to invest in growing our clinical care team and our in-person care services to bring convenient, quality care to more customers across the U.S.”
In-person services are available now in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., as well as across the Potomac from Washington in Arlington, Virginia, where Amazon operates its second headquarters. The company plans to add other major cities, including Chicago, Miami, New York and San Francisco, in 2022.
See also: Amazon’s Multichannel Bid To Bring ‘Amazon Effect’ To Healthcare
When in-home in-person exams are required, Amazon Care has partnered with Seattle-based Care Medical to provide the visiting doctors, nurses and caregivers to deliver those services.
Medical news site Stat reported last year that “the tech giant’s virtual-first medical platform is quietly gearing up to do business in 17 additional states,” as Care Medical seeks licensing to expand the physical delivery of health services while the Amazon Care platform focuses on virtual care.
Amazon Care Director Kristen Helton noted that “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.”
See also: Telehealth Service Amazon Care Attracts Attention From Firms, Stock Market
While Amazon Care started as an in-house program from employees, the eCommerce giant saw the scalable potential. In November, hospitality titan Hilton became Amazon Care’s biggest client, offering the new app-based virtual-physical-pharmacy solution to its workers.
“The combination allows patients to receive a wider range of care, from on-demand primary care to chronic care management, in the comfort of their home. Care Medical doctors and nurses across the country are dedicated to treating Amazon Care customers, so patients are able to build lasting relationships with their health care providers over time,” Amazon said.
In December, it was announced that Amazon Prime Senior Vice President Neil Lindsay will head Amazon Care, leading to speculation about subscription models and other innovations to come.
On news of Lindsay’s appointment, PYMNTS reported that “the original concept behind Amazon Prime is a subscription-based ecosystem that members never need to leave,” adding that “given the buying behavior of Prime members it’s a certainty that Amazon wants Lindsay to bring some of that dynamic to its healthcare initiatives.”
At the same time, others are joining in.
CNBC reported that “Anthem also announced Tuesday it will be offering new virtual primary care services in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Connecticut later this year. UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health’s Aetna division and Cigna, through its recently acquired telehealth unit MDLive, all now offer employers virtual primary care plans which they tout as a program to help employees manage chronic conditions and save costs.”
See also: New Amazon Health Lead May Take a Page From Prime Membership Model on Healthcare
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