--- title: The good and bad of Amazon’s health care efforts - The Hustle description: The bull and bear cases for Dr. Bezos. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1017755195-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-22T021603.101Z.webp --- # The good and bad of Amazon’s health care efforts ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: August 22, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Between expensive prescriptions, phone tag with providers, and long waits at doctors’ offices, the health care industry isn’t exactly known for convenience. ![The good and bad of Amazon’s health care efforts](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1017755195-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-22T021603.101Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1017755195-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-22T021603.101Z.webp) Enter Amazon — which views these inconveniences as a massive opportunity. But can the tech giant actually conquer health care? #### **The bull case** Amazon acquired One Medical, a membership-based primary care service, for **$3.9B** in July. But its foray into health care dates further back: - **In 2018, **Amazon acquired prescription delivery service PillPack. - **In 2019, **it launched employee telehealth service Amazon Care. It boasts [~40k members](https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-care-healthcare-20-major-us-cities-2022-2021-9) across several customers, including TrueBlue and Hilton. With One Medical, Amazon will reach **736k** new health care members and lend One Medical the infrastructure it needs to scale — something Amazon does *pretty* well. #### **The bear case** Several nurses who worked for Amazon Care have [complained](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/19/amazon-care-patient-safety-concerns/) about the company’s “fast and frugal” approach to health care, which resulted in faulty equipment, buggy software, and questionable care, per *The Washington Post*. Some former Amazon Care nurses reported feeling like cogs in the company’s wheel, and one mobile nurse even likened her role to a package being delivered. #### **But customers…** … generally approve, giving the service an average satisfaction rating of 4.7 out of 5. Even if Amazon doesn’t become a big winner, business writer and professor Scott Galloway [says](https://www.profgalloway.com/prime-health/) there’s a greater benefit to Amazon’s health care ambitions: increased competition. By setting new expectations for speed and convenience, Amazon can bring the [“Prime effect”](https://theconversation.com/the-prime-effect-means-retailers-must-innovate-during-the-holidays-and-beyond-128359) to health care, forcing other providers to catch up. 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