Amazon announced that Amazon Care is available to serve other Washington-based companies. Until now, Amazon Care has been exclusively available to Amazon employees and their families in Washington state.
Additionally, beginning this summer, Amazon Care will expand its virtual care to companies and Amazon employees in all 50 states across the U.S. Finally, Amazon Care’s in-person service will expand to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and other cities in the coming months.
Amazon Care launched 18 months ago to provide Amazon employees and their families immediate access to high-quality medical care. The service enables employees to connect with medical professionals via chat or video conference (typically in less than 60 seconds) and eliminates lengthy wait and travel times to get medical attention.
Amazon Care has two components: 1) virtual care, which connects patients to medical professionals via the Amazon Care app (available for both Android and iOS) and allows patients to quickly, conveniently, and confidently chat live with a nurse or doctor, via in-app messaging or video; and 2) in-person care, where Amazon Care can dispatch a medical professional to a patient’s home for additional care, ranging from routine blood draws to listening to a patient’s lungs, and also offer prescription delivery right to a patient’s door.
By supplying Amazon Care as a workplace benefit, employers are investing in the health and well-being of arguably their most important asset: their employees. Amazon Care enables employers to provide access to high quality medical care within 60 seconds for employees, including options for care around the clock through messaging or video. Amazon Care gives instant access to a range of urgent and primary care services, including COVID-19 and flu testing, vaccinations, treatment of illnesses and injuries, preventive care, sexual health, prescription requests, refills, and delivery, and much more.
During shutdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors’ offices were seeing fewer children for pediatric vaccines, so Amazon Care quickly adjusted its services to offer the vaccines in families’ homes. Amazon Care also started helping patients evaluate their work-from-home setups to optimize joint and muscle health, and a separate program was established for people struggling to sleep.
The platform addresses a wide spectrum of patient needs through its primary care and urgent care offerings. Patients can access preventive care such as annual vaccinations, health screenings, and lifestyle advice. The service also supports patients’ wellness needs, including nutrition, pre-pregnancy planning, sexual health, help to quit smoking, and more. For immediate needs, patients can use Amazon Care to assess and treat illnesses and injuries on demand.
For continuity of care, the program’s secure, HIPAA-compliant service also allows employees and their dependents to see the same dedicated teams of medical professionals, which creates long-term relationships that benefit overall health. This is particularly important for recurring prescriptions and in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension.
Patients also have tools to manage their care within the app—including scheduling follow-up visits with their preferred clinician, at their convenience. After visits, patients receive care summaries and follow-up reminders. When using the in-person option, patients also receive live updates on the estimated time of their clinician’s arrival to their home.
