As Amazon continues to pursue a healthcare operation, the company knows it will not disrupt healthcare overnight, Yahoo Finance reported Oct. 11.
Nworah Ayogu, MD, chief medical officer and general manager of Amazon Clinic, said at the recent HLTH conference that Amazon is trying to make healthcare easier.
"We're trying to make things that should be easy, easier," he said. "We're not reinventing the wheel. What we're saying is if you smooth out this edge, the wheel will roll a little bit faster, or if you pave the road in front of it, the wheel will roll on the road a little bit better."
Amazon Clinic facilitates cash-pay virtual services through video visits and online messaging with clinicians. Patients have access to services for around 30 medical conditions and tiered pricing based on location, quality and convenience.
This is just one of the company's healthcare endeavors. Another is One Medical, which Amazon acquired in February. The company offers virtual and in-person primary care.
But despite these offerings, Amazon does not have a "grand plan" for healthcare, according to Sunita Mishra, MD, the company's chief medical officer.
"There's this perception that we have this grand plan," Dr. Mishra said. "I'll say that we're really stubborn on this vision, but we're really flexible on how we get there. We're not going to be able to do it alone; we know that we're going to have to partner, and we're coming to this with a lot of humility."