Amazon May Be Moving One Step Closer to Direct Competition with Urgent Care

We’ve been tracking the confluence of healthcare delivery and private industry, especially among tech companies, for some time now. The latest could be a move that ultimately puts Amazon in direct competition with urgent care centers for some patients. The company has been trying to forge a new link in the healthcare supply chain by getting into the home health test market. Within the past few months, according to CNBC, Amazon was in talks to buy Confer Health, which develops at-home health tests. Those talks failed, but as the CNBC report noted, “if successful, it could save people trips to the doctor’s office for simple things like checking to see whether they have the flu.” Microsoft has already partnered with Walgreens in an effort to create what the companies call a new “ecosystem” that would connect Walgreens customers with pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and healthcare providers in their area. For its part, Apple has directly hired more than 40 physicians to provide on-site care for employees, but also to advise the company on future healthcare strategies.