Amazon now a Healthcare provider??

Not content with taking over the home shopping market, Amazon are making inroads into healthcare.

What could possibly go wrong?

www.theregister.com...

"Amazon's $3.9 billion deal to buy its way into the healthcare world is complete, as it and US healthcare chain One Medical on Wednesday announced the consummation of a merger the pair have been working on since 2022.

Amazon therefore now owns and operates a chain of "221 medical offices in 27 markets across the US," according to One Medical's latest Form 10-K annual report. Amazon can also now access the health data of One Medical's approximately 836,000 patients.

An Amazon spokesperson told The Register that One Medical's current CEO, Amir Dan Rubin, would remain at his post, and that the company isn't planning any layoffs as a result of the acquisition.

One Medical's model is built around adding on-demand technology to medical care. It has mobile apps that provide patients with 24/7 access to video chats with doctors, plus other other remote services. The outfit also promises next-day appointments. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said One Medical's model will eliminate hassles and waits for its patients, who he said "want and deserve better." "

Next step Amazon Organs. Get your Amazon hearts, kidneys and livers!

One thing I’ll say is Amazon is pretty darn efficient. I wouldn’t mind some Amazon deleivery times being applied to the Canadian medical system.

a reply to: Cymru

a reply to: Cymru

Amazon is doing the same wash rinse repeat they have used to destroy everything else..

Promise cheap goods and unrealistic fast shipping.
Get people hooked, put mom and pops out of business, then pull the rug out underneath everyone.

Then have expensive and not fast shipping, and goods that cost more, but mom and pops are no longer around.

I heard someone raving about how cheap Amazon pharmacy is…. I had to roll my eyes!

You know what they say, competition creates better choices and better service. Maybe now, people can e-vid their doctors as a lot of people can't at the moment. Sanford allows them. Not sure of all the insurance companies that have medical providers that offer this capability but I hope this is a move in the right direction. It saves on gas, time and stress and might save people money. It's great for say a recurring issue that isn't life threatening. If it appears more serious, then your medical care provider can schedule an in-person visit.

Haters of Amazon will hate this. I'm glad to see another insurance option because hey, 'no competition, no progress'.

a reply to: StoutBroux

Yeah.
Hate Amazon all you want.

But if you are sick, or your kids are sick, and you are told the next appointment at your alleged Primary Care is in two weeks, and Amazon offers talking to a doctor within an hour.....well....
No contest IMHO.

a reply to: Cymru
Yeah, their tech is superior for tech superiority, or something. Medical, Military, Megalomania!

Mission Insights on AWS

What's the theory? Skynet becomes The Matrix? I don't remember. But, they have a really nice sale on amusements.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: StoutBroux

But if you are sick, or your kids are sick, and you are told the next appointment at your alleged Primary Care is in two weeks, and Amazon offers talking to a doctor within an hour.....well....

Why would anyone need to talk to a Doctor just because they are sick? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: StoutBroux

Yeah.
Hate Amazon all you want.

But if you are sick, or your kids are sick, and you are told the next appointment at your alleged Primary Care is in two weeks, and Amazon offers talking to a doctor within an hour.....well....
No contest IMHO.

I think that is the problem. People literally don’t know that most providers actually have virtual doctors you can talk to immediately. I know mine does. It is also cheap!
It’s just that most people aren’t tech savvy. Amazon is easy, that is why it would probably be successful.

No doctor is better than a brainwashed doctor.

originally posted by: tanstaafl

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: StoutBroux

But if you are sick, or your kids are sick, and you are told the next appointment at your alleged Primary Care is in two weeks, and Amazon offers talking to a doctor within an hour.....well....

Why would anyone need to talk to a Doctor just because they are sick? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

There are numerous reasons, I’ll give you some examples.

Your kid has a UTI and needs a prescription
You ran out of medication and need to talk to your doctor first
You have something (like eczema) and had a flare up that you haven’t had in years, but want to try your old medication
You want to try acne medication
Etc…

There are many things that don’t really need an in person visit, but a video call would suffice.
Of course this shouldn’t be used with anything of a serious nature.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Hate it for being invasive or thinking it's infringing on personal space telehealth / telemedicine is the future and since Amazon is heavily into cloud based technology this is a good way to get ahead of the curve.
Soon they will probably be offering cheaper biometrics and such.

As for the skeptical side of me, I'm wondering where's the profit incentive here. How is the normal person going to benefit from this beyond just faster appointments and being able to read my blood sugar on my phone or something. How will this affect places where health care is built into society like most European nations or here in Canada.

originally posted by: strongfp
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Hate it for being invasive or thinking it's infringing on personal space telehealth / telemedicine is the future and since Amazon is heavily into cloud based technology this is a good way to get ahead of the curve.
Soon they will probably be offering cheaper biometrics and such.

As for the skeptical side of me, I'm wondering where's the profit incentive here. How is the normal person going to benefit from this beyond just faster appointments and being able to read my blood sugar on my phone or something. How will this affect places where health care is built into society like most European nations or here in Canada.

It doesn’t benefit us at all. At first it will probably be slightly cheaper but that’s about it.

Then when they have us all on Credit score and whatnot they will see that you went up a size in pants, or that you ordered a deep fryer even though you have high cholesterol, or that you have diabetes and ordered candy making supplies. Maybe I have such a deep distrust of these things.

And the bigger they get, the harder they fall.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: tanstaafl
There are numerous reasons, I’ll give you some examples.

Your kid has a UTI and needs a prescription

Not necessary, we would just use a natural antibiotic (grapefruit seed extract, colloidal silver, etc).

You ran out of medication and need to talk to your doctor first

We would only take prescription drugs when it is a life and death situation, and then only when absolutely necessary.

You have something (like eczema) and had a flare up that you haven’t had in years, but want to try your old medication

No, we'd just stop eating the garbage that causes the flare ups.

You want to try acne medication

Nope, we don't use toxic drugs to fight symptoms, we go for the root cause. Acne clears up very fast when you stop eating junk/sugar/carbs.

There are many things that don’t really need an in person visit, but a video call would suffice.

The only time I've been in the last 15 years was to get a prescription for Ivermectin so I'd have it for my parents if they got sick with the big V... wasn't necessary to use it yet.

Of course this shouldn’t be used with anything of a serious nature.

I thought it was obvious, but I'll clarify I'm only talking about being sick in the 'regular/normal' sense - cough, runny nose, fever, body aches, etc.

What do you call a doctor that graduates at the very bottom of the class? Doctor.

I have to wonder what kind of oversight there will be; if it's anything like like the FDA has with Big Pharma that's a problem.

I imagine/hope their ability to prescribe anything that's not already 'over the counter' would be severely limited.

There used to be laws against monopolies, making me wonder just what kind of backdoor deal Amazon made with congress when they got called onto the carpet.

Hospitals and corporate entities own nearly half of the medical field and manage almost half of what they don't own. (It's easy to find the info if you google it, so reciting from my memory here.)

The ACA made healthcare the rapidly growing indu$try what it is today, but that would never have been possible without Nixon changing the law that prevented hospitals from being 'for profit' businesses to help out his close friend, Henry J. Kaiser.

Going down rabbit holes shows beyond any doubt that there's decades long planning in directing society, and it's more about transferring wealth and power to the 1% than it is for the good of the people. They just can't try and rush things-like Hitler did.

Ahhh yes the mom and pop hospitals are going going suffer….. . Lol


a reply to: JAGStorm

a reply to: Cymru

I am out here looking for a job. One of the highest paying requested positions is “data analyst”.

See, if you start gathering “big data” then you will need to have a smart enough person to know what to do with the data to turn it into information. And when you are first to information you can charge for it.

Amazon is not run by a bunch of old men sitting on their laurels! It only makes sense that one of the largest sources of big data would attract the attention of the progenitor of big data itself!

Got a computer science degree? Spend the 45K and go get a math/data analysis degree and land a 180K+ a year job!

originally posted by: strongfp
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Hate it for being invasive or thinking it's infringing on personal space telehealth / telemedicine is the future and since Amazon is heavily into cloud based technology this is a good way to get ahead of the curve.
Soon they will probably be offering cheaper biometrics and such.

As for the skeptical side of me, I'm wondering where's the profit incentive here. How is the normal person going to benefit from this beyond just faster appointments and being able to read my blood sugar on my phone or something. How will this affect places where health care is built into society like most European nations or here in Canada.

The technology is already well in use with many insurers and medical providers. It's just one more fish in the pond. The thing about Amazon is they are well known, they're everywhere but I don't know how that will affect their insurance coverage capabilities, and they'll provide financial competition which may help bring down the cost to insureds and spread the financial burden to the insurance companies. The incentive.....I haven't heard of many poor insurance companies. In fact, many are grossly financially secure.

I'm hoping this will be a viable affordable option for those who can't get insurance through employment but aren't qualified for county or state medical. Medical insurance is highly regulated so I'm sure they will be operating at required standards.

a reply to: StoutBroux

I'm afraid of what JAG brought up, not the extreme of not allowing people to buy deep fryers, but insurance companies will now know for sure your health ills. The data collected can be sold to - or even just collected by them no strings attached - insurance company's, and then that data can be used to assess how much of a risk you are.

For profit health care already prevents people from using their insurance for life saving treatments. Got cancer? Too risky. Pay out of pocket. Then, one day, your smart toilet detects high levels of bilirubin, your premium goes up.