Amazon medical: Keeping an eye on you

Is there anything Amazon can’t do?

Bringing it all together

Healthcare retail has been a cherished prize for many major corporations. This potentially huge market has been tempting firms large and small to step into the ring to become THE big healthcare retailer. Amazon now thinks it can do exactly that.

Amazon is buying One Medical, a ‘technology-powered’ primary care and telehealth provider, for a nifty $4 billion. But a one-off step into the medical world this is not. Amazon, among many other tech firms, has been quietly acquiring medical devices and service providers for a while. The question on everyone’s lips is whether One Medical will be the missing piece of the puzzle to send Amazon’s medical services to the next level.

A beating heart

Integrating all of Amazon’s medical devices will help the mega firm become the leading health retailer, with integrations ranging from portable devices to primary care services. With health care so difficult to obtain, could a holistic care provider be the answer to improving things?

Lots of lawmakers are, obviously, saying no. Amazon’s history of unfair trading practices, poor working standards, and alarmingly little clinical practice have got anti-monopoly congress folks concerned. Some, such as Elizabeth Warren, have been taking on the retailing behemoth for years and have authored legislation to make Amazon’s self-referential trading practices illegal.

Amazon’s big medical moves might not be stoppable by congress though, meaning that before you know it, your own wellbeing could be sponsored by Amazon. Just as everyone always wanted.