Amazon is purchasing One Medical, a healthcare company which operates a chain of primary care health clinics, paying $3.9 billion in cash as it looks to expand into the healthcare sector. It will be paying $18 per share, and picking up One Medical’s debts.
Neil Lindsay, SVP of Amazon Health Services, said, “We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention. Booking an appointment, waiting weeks or even months to be seen, taking time off work, driving to a clinic, finding a parking spot, waiting in the waiting room then the exam room for what is too often a rushed few minutes with a doctor, then making another trip to a pharmacy – we see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days We love inventing to make what should be easy easier and we want to be one of the companies that helps dramatically improve the healthcare experience over the next several years. 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.”
Founded in 2007, One Medical, which trades as 1Life Healthcare, opened its first clinic in San Francisco, California. Today it operates over 100 primary care centers in 12 states. It offers members care from doctors through either in-person visits, or virtual appointments. Patients are given an app to stay connected to the company, where they can book appointments, chat with doctors, and gain access to their medical records.
Amazon reportedly sees healthcare as just another consumer sector to expand into and dominate. In 2018 it acquired PillPack, an online pharmacy, and from there it launched Amazon Pharmacy two years later, delivering prescription medicines to its customers. In 2019 it purchased software startup Health Navigator, to support Amazon Care, a healthcare service servicing employees.
Now it is moving into a more personal relationship with healthcare customers, with its purchase of One Medical.
One Medical’s CEO Amir Rubin, said, “The opportunity to transform health care and improve outcomes by combining One Medical’s human-centered and technology-powered model and exceptional team with Amazon’s customer obsession, history of invention, and willingness to invest in the long-term is so exciting.”
It is believed Rubin will be kept on as CEO once the deal closes. He continued, “There is an immense opportunity to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable, and even enjoyable for patients, providers, and payers. We look forward to innovating and expanding access to quality healthcare services, together.”
On the other hand, some analysts are puzzled by Amazon’s move into the healthcare space. Venture capitalist Benedict Evans, said bluntly: “I do not see any strategic logic to Amazon getting into healthcare clinics.”
