(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. says its medical consultation service is expanding around the U.S., underscoring the company's determination to become a major player in the health care industry.
Amazon Care offers virtual health services nationwide and this year will expand in-person care to 20 more cities, including New York, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago, Amazon said Tuesday in a statement.
The company started Amazon Care for its employees in 2019 and then began offering the service to other companies last year. It provides consultations, facilitated through a smartphone app, 24 hours a day. Amazon also offers access to a range of urgent and primary care services. The company said Tuesday that Amazon Care customers include employment agency TrueBlue and Whole Foods Market, which the e-commerce giant acquired in 2017.
Medical services have long been seen as a target for Amazon, both to reduce the costs of caring for the e-commerce giant's fast-growing workforce and as a potential source of revenue in an area that some say is ripe for digital transformation.
The company has various health care initiatives underway. In 2020, Amazon launched online pharmacy services in the U.S. under its own brand, building on PillPack, a mail-distribution pharmacy Amazon had acquired. The company also sells office equipment and some medical supplies to hospitals and clinics through its Amazon Business commercial sales program.
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