With little fanfare, Amazon recently launched its most significant foray into clinical health yet: the expansion of its Amazon Care telehealth service nationwide and in-person care services to more than 20 cities this year, Politico reports.
Meanwhile, the tech giant inked a partnership with Teladoc, one of the largest telehealth providers in the country, which will allow people to access its services through their Alexa devices.
Amazon has been pushing into the health care space for years, starting with its wearable health device, Halo and pharmacy services with its PillPack acquisition.
But this latest move signals that the company is getting serious about its role in the rapidly expanding telehealth industry, which could grow to a $20 billion sector over the next five years.
The policy implications are enormous, prompting privacy and antitrust advocates to watch Amazon’s moves with trepidation. After all, it has a reputation for leveraging its dominance in other areas, like e-commerce, to take over new markets, sometimes at the expense of user privacy. Read more.
