Technology Review is reporting that Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com is getting into the health care business. On the one hand, a lot of people are going to be nervous about Jeff Bezos getting his hands on medicine. On the other hand, Amazon is likely to have better success delivering more health care services at lower prices than the politicians in Washington have managed thus far. To be sure, none of what Amazon is contemplating is new. Other tech giants such as Apple and Google are bending their attention toward the practice of medicine. However, because the company is worth half a trillion dollars, it can bring a lot of resources to bear toward upending the way we get health services.
Using Amazon devices to interact with doctors
One idea is to use Amazon’s smart speaker Echo as a way to get instant access to health care information, including medical records and drug studies that might be of use for doctors. Amazon is also looking into creating a system to make online doctor appointments and might even, in the fullness of time, go into telemedicine in which one can consult with a doctor remotely, without having to drive to his or her office.
Selling medication online
One of the other business lines Amazon is contemplating getting into is selling drugs and medical devices online. Online drug sales are nothing new. However, Amazon has one of the most sophisticated and extensive distribution networks on the planet.
The company would be able to sell and distribute medications at a deep discount since its customer base is going to be very extensive. Amazon could either partner with your friendly, neighborhood drug store or distribute medicines directly from its warehouse centers.
What about health insurance?
The sale of health insurance policies across state lines is so far not allowed, thanks to the gridlock in Washington over reforming health care reform.
However, if and when Congress ever approves the practice, Amazon could, without a doubt, get into the medical insurance business. Since its patient pool is likely to be vast, the company will likely be able to charge a smaller premium than most old line insurance carriers.
The private sector can offer solutions where government has failed
One interesting aspect of Amazon getting into the health care business is how the industry will always do a better job where the government has failed. No one with any degree of seriousness will be confident that the government is going to make the delivery of health care better and cheaper. Its past efforts have had the opposite effect. Amazon, on the other hand, has been successful for having delivered a whole host of goods and services cheaper and more reliably. No reason exists that it will not do the same for health care.
