Amazon is making a big push into health care by spending $3.9 billion to buy One Medical, a provider of primary care clinics in the US.
“We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention,” Amazon SVP of Health Services Neil Lindsay said in Thursday’s announcement.
Amazon’s goal is to streamline the experience of accessing health care. Lindsay pointed to how it can take weeks or even months for patients to see doctors in person. When the appointment finally occurs, a patient may only have "a rushed few minutes" with the physician before making another trip to the pharmacy, Lindsay said.
“We see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days,” he added. Hence, you can expect the merged company to tap into Amazon technologies to cut out some of the hassle of visiting a clinic. The e-commerce giant has already been building cashierless grocery stores and a fashion outlet that lets customers use their smartphones to request clothes to try on.
Amazon decided to buy the San Francisco-based One Medical, citing its focus on “in-person, digital, and virtual care services,” which can be accessed where people work, shop, and live. The health care provider serves several major cities in California, and has a presence in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, among other US markets. It's also a membership primary care provider that currently works with "more than 8,000 companies" to supply health benefits to their employees.
One Medical CEO Amir Dan Rubin says the Amazon merger promises to help make health care in the US “more accessible, affordable, and even enjoyable for patients, providers, and payers.”
The deal will be completed once it's approved by One Medical shareholders and regulators.