Amazon Introduces Virtual Health Clinics In the U.S., Competitor Shares Slide
Key takeaways
- Amazon Clinic has now had a full rollout across all of the U.S. states
- The online shopping behemoth has been trying to break into healthcare for years, having completed a $3.7 billion takeover of OneMedical earlier this year
- Amazon shares are down 2.8% following the news
Amazon has made a splash in the world of telehealth and is rolling out its virtual health clinic services across the U.S. This isn’t the first time the e-commerce giant has tried to break into the healthcare world, and Wall Street’s memory can be long — hence the share price’s reaction to the news. Let’s get into it.
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What’s Amazon’s latest health venture?
Amazon Clinic was first unveiled in November 2022, though it wasn’t until this week the service was available across the entire U.S. The virtual platform is a conduit for users to connect with telemedicine partners that can help with everyday ailments like headaches, sinus care and acne.
Current partners include Curai Health, SteadyMD and Wheel. The service doesn’t currently accept insurance for the services but can accept it for medications prescribed through Amazon Clinic.
Amazon has been trying to crack the healthcare nut for years. After it closed down its Amazon Care business, we thought the shopping titan was done with it; however, it recently completed on its $3.9 billion acquisition of OneMedical earlier this year and has its online pharmacy.
What was the market reaction?
Despite the roll-out, Amazon shares didn’t do well after the news and the stock has dropped 2.8% in the last 24 hours. Amazon has still performed excellently in 2023, with the stock marching up 49% since the start of the year.
It also wasn’t a good day for rival telehealth providers. Shares in Teladoc, a direct competitor to the new Amazon Clinic service, closed 6% down at the news, while Amwell has seen a 7.6% drop in the last five days.
The bottom line
Amazon’s latest attempt to capitalize on the healthcare market was met with a muted reaction from Wall Street. Given we’ve been here before, investors will be looking for early signs of success and profitability if they’re going to give the venture their blessing.
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