Amazon
"We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention," Neil Lindsay, Senior Vice President of Amazon Health Services, is quoted in the company's press release.
According to the statement, Amazon hopes to improve how patients schedule and receive care and prescriptions. The online retailer first signalled its serious interest in the healthcare industry in 2018 when it acquired PillPack for $750 million. Since then, Amazon has significantly expanded its telehealth services, known as Amazon Care, including by launching its own online pharmacy in 2020 using PillPack.
"We see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days," said Lindsay.
One Medical provides a variety of 24/7 telehealth services and also operates a network of 188 primary-care offices serving 767,000 members, according to the company's first-quarter earning reports. Those reports also showed that One Medical had suffered a net loss of $90.9 million.
"We want to be one of the companies that helps dramatically improve the healthcare experience over the next several years," Lindsay said. "Together with One Medical's human-centered and technology-powered approach to health care, we believe we can and will help more people get better care, when and how they need it. We look forward to delivering on that long-term mission."
Following the announcement, shares of One Medical's parent company, 1Life Healthcare
"There is an immense opportunity to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable, and even enjoyable for patients, providers, and payers," One Medical CEO Amir Dan Rubin is quoted in the release. "We look forward to innovating and expanding access to quality healthcare services, together."
Following the acquisition, Rubin will stay on as the head of One Medical.
While Amazon has confirmed that it will be taking on One Medical's debt, it remains to be seen whether or not Amazon will also take on the boutique medical provider's somewhat tarnished history.
In 2021, NPR reported that One Medical had engaged in questionable practices regarding providing the vaccine to members.
According to the report, at a time when the COVID-19 vaccine supply was still incredibly low, One Medical provided shots to citizens who had been deemed ineligible by local health departments, including "people with connections to company leaders and customers of its concierge medical service".
