How soon do you need an appointment? It depends greatly on whether you want one via text or video.
August 7, 2023
The future of healthcare has taken another step forward. Ten months after its introduction, Amazons virtual health service, Amazon Clinic, is now available in all 50 states.
Timing is everything and with an estimated 75% of healthcare workers leaving the profession by 2025, Amazon certainly had to see a shift in how healthcare will be administered in the future.
The "doc in the box" wont be able to fix a broken leg or give you an allergy shot, but itcan treat more than 30 common health conditions everything from urinary tract infections, to pink eyeand erectile dysfunction. And those conditions can be treated by a licensed clinician via secure messaging or video chat with Amazon Clinic.
Those conditions include:
General Health: acid reflux, cold sores, COVID-19, gout, motion sickness, pink eye, quit smoking, seasonal allergies, sinus infection.
Skin and Hair: acne, anti-aging skincare, dandruff, eczema, eyelash growth, athletes foot, male hair loss, rosacea.
Sexual Health: bacterial vaginosis, birth control, genital herpes and warts, period cramps, erectile dysfunction, emergency contraception, urinary tract infection, vaginal yeast infection, premature ejaculation, vaginal dryness.
Other advantages could make a difference
Amazon is going all-in on consumer convenience. No appointment is required at Amazon Clinic. Insurance isnt requiredbecause Amazon Clinic does not accept insurance at this time.
Customers will also have 24/7 access to clinicians directly through Amazon.com and the Amazon mobile app.
On the prescriptionend, you can save yourself a trip to the pharmacy because the Clinic can also fill your prescription at Amazon Pharmacy and give you free shippingif your treatment plan calls for a prescription. Amazon Pharmacy accepts a wide range of insurance plans, or Prime members can save with RxPass or Prime Rx.
The Clinic can also take care of prescription renewals for these six conditions: high blood pressure, asthma, EpiPass, hypothyroidism, migraineand high cholesterol.
At Amazon, we want to make it dramatically easier for people to get and stay healthy, and were doing that by helping customers get the care and medications they need in the way that is most convenient for them, Dr. Nworah Ayogu, chief medical officer and general manager, Amazon Clinic, said.
As a doctor, Ive seen firsthand that patients want to be healthy but lack the time, tools, or resources to effectively manage their care. Amazon provides multiple health services to provide the choice, convenience, and continuity of care customers need when it comes to their health.
Consumer questions answered
Below the surface of convenience, you probably have a few questions about other aspects of Amazon Clinic. ConsumerAffairs found some answers that might be helpful.
Are these Amazon doctors? Not exactly. The physicians actually work for third-party providers Wheel, SteadyMD, Curai Health, and Hello Alpha.
How much does this cost? Each of those third-party telehealth providers sets its own prices, and prices will vary for each treatment and whether the visit is done via text or via video. When ConsumerAffairs checked the prices for some sample conditions, heres what we found:
Sinus infection (sinusitis) treatment: The prices for chat-based sessions and video-based sessions were the same $30 and $72 respectively but both options were not available in all 50 states.
Acid reflux (GERD) treatment: The prices for GERD that ConsumerAffairs saw were a bit different $35 for text and $77 for video.
How quickly can I get an appointment? It depends on what condition you have. For example, for cold sores, twohours and 15 minutes is the typical response time for text and onehour for video. For acid reflux, the response time could be eighthours and 30 minutes for text and onehour for video.
Is your health information safe? Good question. Amazon is committed to protecting our customers privacy like we would our own, and we take our responsibility for safeguarding protected health information (PHI) very seriously, the company said. "Amazon Clinic is compliant with HIPAA and all other applicable laws and regulations related to privacy.
The PHI Amazon said it uses includes medical history, diagnoses, treatments, current medical condition, and use of prescription medications. More information about Amazon Clinics approach to privacy can be found here.