From its acquisition of One Medical primary care to its online pharmacy, Amazon has a history of trying to disrupt the status quo. However, the news is out that Amazon has now laid off “a few hundred” of its staff within these healthcare lines of business and is closing at least 3 One Medical corporate offices. Richard Zane, MD, chief innovation officer of UCHealth in Colorado, which offers urgent care services, recently told Becker’s Hospital Review that the economics of staffing costs combined with pressure on reimbursement has created a tricky situation for all providers, and it’s not surprising Amazon is making strategic moves. “Who would have thought healthcare was complicated?” he told Becker’s in an interview. “To say that it is white knuckle time in healthcare would be an understatement.”
What to watch: Amazon bought One Medical just a year ago for $3.9 billion. Because Amazon is within the everyday flow of American life and has brilliant brand recognition, its offerings typically capture a captive audience from day one. Urgent care organizations may wish to pay attention to the overall uptake on One Medical subscriptions to assess Amazon’s competitive potential. Even so, the primary care provider down the street is far more likely turn out to be an urgent care center’s most direct competitor.