Amazon announced the $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care provider One Medical, adding another layer to the eCommerce giant’s efforts to combine virtual visits with physical locations in its growing sector footprint.
One Medical is a membership-based primary care clinic with on-site offices in major US cities and a comprehensive telehealth service offering. Its acquisition positions Amazon to expand its Amazon Care network, which recently expanded into more than 20 markets, as it competes against Walmart and other retail rivals in a rapidly growing segment of the healthcare industry — offering affordable, digitally connected care close to where patients work and shop.
In a statement, Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, stated, “We believe health care is high on the list of experiences that need to be reimagined.” “We see a lot of chances to improve the experience while also giving people back vital time in their days.” “Booking an appointment, waiting weeks or even months to be seen, taking time off work, driving to a clinic, finding a parking spot, waiting in the waiting room, then the exam room for what is often a rushed few minutes with a doctor, then making another trip to a pharmacy — we see a lot of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people valuable time back in their days.”
Amir Dan Rubin, CEO of One Medical, praised the Amazon acquisition as having “huge potential to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable, and even delightful for consumers, providers, and payers.” We are excited to collaborate to develop and expand access to high-quality healthcare services.”
Rubin will remain CEO of One Medical, and no rebranding plans have been made. CNBC reports that San Francisco-based One Medical “operates a network of boutique primary care clinics as well as telemedicine services “It now has 767,000 members and administers 188 medical offices in 25 markets.”
