Amazon to launch Healthcare Accelerator Program

Online retail behemoth Amazon is looking to shape the next crop technological healthcare solutions with the Amazon Web Services Healthcare Accelerator Program.

According to a news release, the company will choose 10 healthcare startups with an established product-market fit and existing customers and revenue to take part in a four-week technical, business, and mentorship accelerator program. It will seek to accelerate growth in the cloud with a focus on remote patient monitoring, voice technology, analytics, patient engagement, and virtual care.

Applications are due July 23.

This is just another example of Amazon wading deeper into the healthcare field after the company announced its hybrid telehealth and in-person service would be rolled out across the country earlier this year.

The Amazon Care pilot program was opened to Amazon employees in the state of Washington about two years ago. It 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.

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.

Last 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.