Amazon is shutting down the hybrid virtual home care service it has been developing for years, a surprising move that underscores the challenges it faces as it moves into health care.
The service, called Amazon Care, will end Dec. 31, according to an email sent to staff by Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services. Amazon Care launched in 2019 for Washington state employees of Seattle-based Amazon, who served as test users before the company made it available last year to its workers in all 50 states .
The service connects patients virtually with doctors and nurses who can provide treatment 24 hours a day. It has no physical locations, but offers in-person services for things like flu shots and tests in several cities, including Seattle and Washington, DC.
Amazon’s decision to shut down Amazon Care is all the more surprising given that the company said in February that it planned to expand the in-person care service to include 20 additional cities. Last summer, Amazon also began offering the service to private entrepreneurs across the country.
In the email sent to staff, Lindsay wrote that Amazon listened to feedback from employers and worked to improve Amazon Care.
“However, despite these efforts, we have determined that Amazon Care is not the right long-term solution for our business customers,” Lindsay wrote.
He added that Amazon Care “isn’t a comprehensive enough offering for the large enterprise customers we’ve targeted and wouldn’t work in the long term.”
An Amazon spokesman declined to say how many people will lose their jobs as a result of Amazon Care closing.
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Amazon Care isn’t the company’s first failed healthcare effort. The tech and retail giant was also part of a short-lived partnership with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway to improve health care costs. The three corporate giants formed a separate company called Haven to focus on improving care and managing expenses, but it dissolved last year.
Despite the setbacks, Amazon hasn’t wavered in its focus on health care. Last month, it announced plans to spend $3.9 billion to buy primary care organization One Medical, a membership-based service that offers virtual care and in-person visits. From MarchOne Medical had about 767,000 members and 188 medical offices in 25 markets
Neil Saunders, CEO of GlobalData Retail, said that since Amazon is now investing in other areas of health, it is taking a more aggressive stance on exiting things that aren’t performing.
“The shutdown underscores the difficulty of making inroads in the healthcare market,” Saunders said. “It serves as a warning that even with acquisitions, Amazon’s bid to shake up the industry will be incredibly difficult and possibly expensive.”
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