Amazon’s cloud computing service, AWS, has signed deals with several companies in recent years, including Cerner and Change Healthcare. It also launched healthcare-specific features, including Comprehend Medical, and partnered with providers, including Cleveland Clinic, Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., and Providence in Renton, Wash. , to help users find urgent care and schedule same-day appointments.
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic also has partnered with Amazon’s Alexa to enable the “Mayo answers on COVID-19” skill giving users CDC guidance through speech recognition technology. Users can ask questions about the coronavirus and receive information from Mayo and the CDC.
Amazon also launched a telehealth benefit for some employees last year, and expanded it to include warehouse workers in the Seattle area amid the pandemic.
CB Insights estimates that a benefits marketplace for employers and payers could be Amazon’s next move.
“Amazon could become a benefits marketplace for employers and payers by offering a frictionless method to access benefits. Already, Amazon has offerings that could serve as healthcare marketplaces. Care could become a marketplace by providing back-end infrastructure service to provider groups. This could create a flywheel effect that the company relies on for growth,” states the report.
Amazon has made some strides in this direction through its partnership with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway to develop Haven. The enterprise is undergoing executive leadership change, but still aims to provide a better, less expensive healthcare experience.
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