Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, retail giants have moved rapidly to establish a foothold in the telehealth boom.
Below are five updates Becker's Hospital Review has reported on:
- Amazon Care is bringing both telehealth and in-person care to Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas and Boston in 2021. Amazon plans to operate in-person healthcare in 20 major cities by the end of 2022.
- In an effort to expand coverage of its services, Amazon Care approached several big health insurers, including Aetna, Premera Blue Cross and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
- Walmart Health began shuffling its leadership amid a slow clinic rollout. The retail giant has been focusing on its telehealth initiatives and has pushed back its timeline for brick-and-mortar clinic locations.
- Dollar General healthcare offerings will focus on services that rural customers don't have access to, such as eye care, telemedicine or prescription drug delivery.
- Dollar General has inked a partnership with online pharmacy Genius Rx. The partnership enables customers to get prescriptions delivered to their homes. Dollar General also has a partnership with telehealth provider Babylon. Babylon is already offering free telehealth appointments at certain locations in Missouri.