The human arsenal might be expansive beyond all limits, but it still doesn’t have anything more valuable than that tendency of ours to grow on a consistent basis. This tendency, in particular, has already allowed us to hit upon some huge milestones, with technology appearing as a major member of the stated group. The main reason why we hold technology in such a high regard is because of its skill-set, which was unique enough to usher us towards all the possibilities that we couldn’t have imagined otherwise. Nevertheless, a slightly closer look would reveal how the whole runner was also very much predicated upon the way we utilized those skills across a real-world environment. The latter component was, in fact, what gave the creation a spectrum-wide presence, including a timely appearance on our healthcare block. Technology’s foray into healthcare was perfectly-timed, as it came right when the sector was beginning to struggle against its own obsolete structure. This reality, fortunately enough, went through a complete overhaul under the new regime, but even after going so far, the emerging medtech concept will somehow continue to produce all the right goods. The same has turned more and more evident over the recent past, and truth be told, Amazon’s latest decision does a lot to keep that trend alive and kicking.
In a new bid to expand its presence within the healthcare space, Amazon has officially launched Amazon Clinic, which is perceived to be a message-based online healthcare service that offers treatments for over 20 “common health conditions.” According to certain reports, these conditions include asthma refills, birth control, cold sores, dandruff, eczema, erectile dysfunction, eyelash growth, genital herpes, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hayfever, hyperlipidemia refills, hypertension refills, hypothyroidism refills, men’s hair loss, migraines, sinusitis, smoking cessation, urinary tract infections (UTIs), yeast infections and so on.. But how does the whole thing work? Once a patient selects the relevant condition, they are asked to pick a provider from the platform’s assorted list of licensed telehealth providers. The next step would be to provide the user with what is a detailed intake questionnaire. As you can guess, this questionnaire sets up the stage for the user to have a personalized care experience, but that’s not all. Amazon Clinic also gives you any necessary prescriptions that you can fill at any pharmacy — including Amazon Pharmacy.
Notably enough, it’s not the first time Amazon has tried to crack into the virtual healthcare space. If you have been keeping up, you’d know that the e-commerce giant, back in 2019, actually launched a telehealth service called Amazon Care, which is now set to shut down on 31st December 2022. When questioned about the reasoning behind it, the company cited how it was just not a complete enough service. However, despite that being out of the picture, the new Amazon Clinic will still get to operate alongside Amazon Pharmacy, as well as whatever the company makes of its One Medical acquisition, a deal that set Amazon back by a whopping $4 billion.
Amazon Clinic will be available, at least for the initial phase, in 32 US states, with plans to enter more markets already in motion.
