Amazon’s Health Clinic

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -Healthcare is just a message away. Amazon Clinic is seeing patients now. The site launched Tuesday, with options to treat common health conditions, including allergies, acne and hair loss.

No appointment necessary.

It’s described as “message-based virtual care” that’s intended to connect customers with affordable virtual care options when and how they need it,” as written in a blog post.

Amazon Clinic offers treatments for more than 20 common health conditions. To use Amazon Clinic, select your condition, then choose a preferred provider from a list of licensed and telehealth providers. Next, you’ll be asked to fill-out a questionnaire to be connected to doctors through a message-based portal.

There’s an initial chat before the medical professional sends a treatment plan and or any necessary prescriptions. Customers will be able to see how much a consultation will cost when they set out to seek treatment. Amazon Clinic does not accept insurance at this time, but it is FSA and HSA eligible.

These moves come as Amazon broadens its reach into every corner of customers’ lives, including grocery stores, video streaming, home devices and more. Some of these efforts have come under scrutiny from activists and lawmakers.

In recent years, Amazon has gradually been growing its footprint in the health care sector. It acquired online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, which it later rebranded to PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy, in 2019. It then launched its own Amazon Pharmacy in 2020. Earlier this year, Amazon agreed to acquire One Medical, a membership-based primary care service, for $3.9 billion.

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