Amazon Plots an Alternative Route to Relevance in the Healthcare Marketplace

You just can’t beat Amazon when it comes to stocking items on the back-to-school list once everything’s been sufficiently picked over at Staples and Walmart. The company has tried in various ways to capitalize on its good name in entering the healthcare marketplace, to no avail. Now they’re trying a different tactic: buying an already established concern. The virtual retail colossus announced a $3.9 billion deal to take over One Medical and its 125 brick-and-mortar locations. While One Medical promotes itself as a primary care operation, one of its perceived attributes is its prescription model (augmented by telemedicine services) essentially assures patients get same-day care as they would in an urgent care setting. The downside from a national health system standpoint is that their locations tend to be in toney areas and cater to homogenous, healthy, well-off prescribers who tend to be relatively low-cost to care for. It’s important to recognize that the deal leaves Amazon with nonvirtual holdings in addition to its app, an EMR, a Medicare Advantage plan and a population health framework.