Amazon considers launching medical platform in Japan

It is reported that Amazon is considering entering the online sales business of prescription drugs in Japan and plans to cooperate with small and medium-sized pharmacies in Japan to create an online medical platform. After placing an order online, users can just sit at home and wait for delivery. Patients can also seek online guidance on how to use medicines through the platform.

Amazon plans to launch the service next year, as Japan will allow electronic prescriptions by then. Amazon will not operate its own pharmacies or deliver its own drug inventory, but will work with small and medium-sized pharmacies in Japan to sell prescription drugs online, and Amazon will be responsible for using its distribution network to deliver drugs from pharmacies to customers' homes.

It is understood that Amazon has been active in the online pharmacy business before. In 2018, Amazon acquired the startup PillPack and transformed it into the Amazon Pharmacy business. In July 2022, Amazon announced the acquisition of primary care company One Medical for US$3.9 billion.

“We believe that the current healthcare experience is in urgent need of reinvention,” said Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services. “After making an appointment, patients have to wait weeks or even months to see a doctor. Then they have to take time off, drive to the clinic, find a parking space, wait in the waiting room, then wait for the doctor in the exam room, and finally go to the pharmacy. We see many opportunities to improve the quality of the experience and save time for patients.”

In August this year, Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, announced in a company email on Wednesday that Amazon will shut down its telemedicine service Amazon Care after December 31, 2022.

Although the service is ending, Amazon gained deeper insight into the "long-standing need for meaningful health care solutions for both business and individual customers" by launching Amazon Care, he wrote in the memo. "It (Amazon Care) is not complete enough for large enterprise customers and will not be effective long term."

It is understood that Amazon Care was launched in 2019 as a pilot project for Amazon employees in and around the Seattle headquarters. Amazon Care provides virtual emergency care services, free telemedicine services, paid nurse home visits and vaccination services. In February of this year, Amazon announced that it would begin to provide telemedicine services to Amazon employees and employees of other companies across the United States.