Two L.E.K. Consulting partners outlined five potential points of entry Amazon may take to disrupt the healthcare industry in a recent report.
"Many industry watchers are now asking: How far will Amazon, the master disrupter, take this? The answer: very far, it's safe to assume," Robert Haslehurst, a managing director and partner in the management consulting firm's Boston office, and Joseph Johnson, a managing director and partner in the firm's New York office, wrote in the report, released March 22.
Mr. Haslehurst, who focuses on the firm's retail and consumer products practices, and Mr. Johnson, who focuses on the firm's healthcare services practice, cited various reasons Amazon will likely enter the healthcare industry, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' interest in exploring complex inefficiencies.
"The company has repeatedly shown that it has the capabilities, the patience and the deep pockets to disrupt industry after industry. Healthcare is no exception," Mr. Haslehurst and Mr. Johnson wrote. They added that as one of the largest private employers in the U.S., Amazon would also "reap huge financial benefits from lowering the high cost of healthcare in this country."
Here are the five potential entry points Amazon may take into the healthcare industry, according to the report.
1. Medical equipment and medical supply distribution
2. Mail-order and retail pharmacy
3. Pharmacy benefit manager partnerships
4. Telemedicine and in-home healthcare via its Echo and Alexa products
5. Automated, artificial intelligence-driven in-home healthcare and diagnostics
To access L.E.K. Consulting's report, click here.