Amazon Prepares to Peddle Healthcare

 

by Pa Rock

Consumer of Healthcare

I was sitting at the computer keyboard yesterday afternoon trying to figure out the best way to motivate a fictional character when I decided to take a mental break by checking my email - and the first item in the in-box to catch my attention made me wonder if I had perhaps dozed off and awakened on April 1st.  It was an email from my most active correspondent, Amazon.com, with the heading "Amazon Clinic."   The brief message which followed on the opening panel said:  "Healthcare is a message away," and that was followed by "Find treatment for common health concerns with Amazon Clinic - no visits or video calls needed."

Have mercy!  Bezos is peddling healthcare!

For some reason I was put in mind of 1LT Milo Minderbinder in "Catch-22," a fictional entrepreneur/soldier who sold war materials and staged battles for profit during World War II - to both sides - and became perhaps the best characterization ever of the possible bizarre outcomes of unrestrained capitalism, at least until present times.

The new move by Amazon into the healthcare marketplace appears to be an extension of the tele-health  system that is already diluting the quality of medical care across the United States, except that the Amazon plan even eliminates the need for teleconferencing.  It all appears to be accomplished through typed internet correspondence.

People who have medical issues in one of eighteen relatively common areas may use this service for receiving a treatment plan from a licensed physician as well as prescriptions. The plan is currently available in thirty-three states, and Amazon does not currently accept health insurance to pay for this service - nor is the company taking payment through Medicare or Medicaid.    The use of health insurance is a possibility in paying for prescriptions, depending on insurance and pharmacy regulations.

The conditions which the plan currently covers are:  Acne, Birth Control, Cold Sores, Dandruff, Eczema, Eyelash Growth, Erectile Dysfunction (ED), Genital Herpes, Heartburn (acid reflux), Male Hair Loss, Motion Sickness, Pink Eye, Quit Smoking, Rosacea, Seasonal Allergy, Sinusitis, UTI, and Yeast Infection,    A prior diagnosis is required for treatment of Eczema, Genital Herpes, and Rosacea. 

The plan will also renew prescriptions for common medications for Asthma, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Hypothyroidism, and Migraines.

To access this service there are no audio chats or video visits required.  Prices very by on-line clinics participating in the program and are available on each clinic's webpage, and prescriptions may be filled at the patient's pharmacy of choice.  It sounds like a simple three-step process:  1. the patient fills out a questionnaire about health history and current symptoms,  2. the information is reviewed by a physician OR a nurse practitioner who then reaches out with any questions they might have, and, 3. a treatment plan is generated, including any medications.

Easy, peasy - if, you live in one of the thirty-three states currently covered (I couldn't find the list), and if you are between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four.

I'm on Medicare, so I don't qualify - but if I did and was interested in this type of service, I would probably wait for Mark Cuban to come up with his plan so I could comparison shop.  Who knows - Elon may want in on the action, too!

Damn!  Why am I still thinking about Milo Minderbinder?