Amazon to close virtual healthcare service Amazon Care after announcing expansion in February
- Amazon said it would shut down the virtual, in-home care service that it launched in 2019 for employees by December 31
- The retreat reflects the difficulties tech companies face in trying to shake up the healthcare sector
The service, called Amazon Care, will end by December 31, according to an email sent to staff by Neil Lindsay, senior vice-president of Amazon Health Services.
Amazon Care was launched in 2019 for Seattle-based Amazon’s Washington state employees, who served as trial users before the company made it available last year to its workers in all 50 states.
The service connects patients virtually with doctors and nurses who can provide treatment 24 hours a day. It does not have physical locations, but offers in-person services for things like vaccinations and flu testing in several cities, including Seattle and Washington, DC.
Amazon’s decision to pull the plug on Amazon Care is even more surprising given the company said in February it was planning to expand the in-person care service to include 20 additional cities. Last summer, Amazon also began offering the service to private employers nationwide.
In the email sent to staff, Lindsay wrote that Amazon listened to feedback from employers and worked to improve Amazon Care.
“However, despite these efforts, we’ve determined that Amazon Care isn’t the right long-term solution for our enterprise customers,” Lindsay wrote.