Amazon Care going nationwide

Amazon will deepen its foray into the health care industry by expanding the Amazon Care pilot across the country this summer.

According to a news release, the program was opened to Amazon employees 18 months ago in the state of Washington. Amazon Care is a two-part program with virtual care connecting patients to physicians through the Amazon Care app, and in-person care where a health care professional will be dispatched to the patient’s home for additional care.

As of March 17, the program was opened up to other employers in Washington. This summer the virtual care component will expand to employers and Amazon employees nationwide while the in-person component will be rolled out to Washington D.C., Baltimore, and other cities in the coming months, the release says.

“By supplying Amazon Care as a workplace benefit, employers are investing in the health and well-being of arguably their most important asset: their employees. Amazon Care enables employers to provide access to high quality medical care within 60 seconds for employees, including options for care around the clock through messaging or video,” the release says.

This isn’t the only aspect of health care that Amazon is trying to disrupt.

In July, the company announced its Neighborhood Health Center Pilot Program in partnership with Crossover Health.

The plan is to, through the initial phase of the program, establish 20 such clinics in five cities across the U.S. with the goal of improving access and care for the more than 115,000 Amazon employees in Phoenix, Ariz.; Louisville, Ky.; Detroit, Mich.; the San Bernadino-Moreno Valley area, Calif.; and Dallas-Fort Worth. If the pilot program succeeds Amazon will seek to expand to other cities.

In November, Amazon announced its foray into the pharmacy space by opening their own digital one.

The Amazon Pharmacy store on allows customers to purchase prescription drugs from their desktop or mobile device through the Amazon app. By creating a secure pharmacy profile, customers can add their health insurance information, manage their prescriptions, and choose their payment options before checking out.