One Medical has been my primary care provider for a long time. It's convenient, with locations around the Bay Area, and I like being able to schedule a same day physical.
A medical professional knows a lot about me. In addition to many years of clinic visits and virtual chats, I use the mobile app to record my blood pressure and resting heart rate. I pay a yearly membership fee.
I didn't take into account the possibility that One Medical could someday be owned by Amazon.
The same company that sends me thousands of boxes a week, offers Prime discounts when I shop at Whole Foods, and is about to provide my medical services, is about to own portals that contain my medical services.
After waking up to the news that Amazon had agreed to buy One Medical for about $3.9 billion, I was not the only one who was concerned. The primary care company was valued at less than it was a day earlier.
After a positive experience with One Medical, I canceled my membership. I don't think Amazon will act in good faith with my data.
According to its website, One Medical offers clinical services in 16 U.S. markets, with three more to come. The company had 7360,000 members at the end of the year.
I was not reassured by Amazon's acquisition announcement. The company didn't say anything to make One Medical customers feel better, and there was no conference call to discuss the acquisition. Regulatory approvals are required to close the deal.
The minimum level of assurance that Amazon will abide by government regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was offered by the company. All personally identifiable information, medical history, lab test results and other health data is included.
Amazon will never share One Medical customers' personal health information outside of One Medical for advertising or marketing purposes of other Amazon products and services without the customer's permission.
Everything One Medical knows about me should be in that silo. Whatever profile Amazon has built on me and my family, from our shopping habits and travel preferences to the shows we watch together on Saturdays and Sundays, will not commingle with my health data.
Neil Lindsay, lead of Amazon Health Services, said in the news release that the main goal is to improve the healthcare experience over the next several years.
Amazon has built a highly profitable advertising business that generated over $30 billion in revenue last year and has grown by over 50%. The majority of the money comes from brands paying big bucks to promote their products on Amazon's properties.
According to Insider Intelligence, Amazon is the third largest online ad market in the US.
Fight for the Future is an advocacy group focused on technology and digital rights.
Seeley George said in an email that the issue of health privacy is important after the Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion. Decision related to reproductive health that were protected by law can now be considered illegal.
Amazon limited the sale of emergency contraceptives after the Supreme Court ruled. The location history of people who go to abortion sites will be deleted by the company.
"Pushing forward into healthcare raises some serious red flags, especially in the post-Roe reality where people's data can be used to criminalize their reproductive healthcare decisions."
Seeley George wonders if an Amazon fertility-tracking or mental health app could be used to create assumptions about an individual that could be used against them.
Amazon has a health tracker that gathers information such as activity levels and sleep.
cynics will likely be laughed at by techno-optimists The status quo is not good. Medical care is expensive and systems are old and don't talk to one another.
Amazon saw the system's many flaws and inefficiencies and tried to offer better care to its massive employee base, which jumped to 1.6 million last year from 1.3 million in 2020.
Two years later, Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy after buying online pharmacy PillPack. The company has invested in a service called Amazon Care, which is available for other employers to offer as a service to their staff.
Deena said that this is not the first time that Amazon has been involved in healthcare.
Amazon has experience with multiple products with this and is well aware of how to handle HIPAA considerations. She wrote that this type of deal should encourage more partnerships between large companies and health tech players.
Carbon Health is an investor in a number of states. The company serves more than one million patients and is usually targeting a less affluent group.
Analysts say Amazon is poised to disrupt the $934.8 billion dollar global pharmaceutical industry.Amazon is restricted in how it can use the data, according to Eren. He says that Amazon gets a lot of trust from consumers.
There may be concern. Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers and insurance cards are just some of the data that medical care companies have on their employees. Patients are more likely to give their information to doctors and nurses than other service providers.
There are strict regulations for how that data can be used, but consumers can reasonably ask what will happen if a company like Amazon broke the rules.
There aren't strong technical solutions to enforce data access It's a personal decision whether patients should worry about that.
It is generally believed that Amazon is bullish on the space. When Amazon makes a splashy announcement that it's coming to an old market, existing players are forced into action to avoid being wiped out.
He mentioned the purchase of PillPack by Amazon. While Amazon has struggled in the pharmacy business, entering the market pushed companies such as Walgreens and Walmart to bolster their digital offerings in ways that are beneficial to consumers. Improved products and services can be found in the world of primary care.
Small startups don't usually threaten large companies. They are really in danger by Amazon.
Annie Palmer worked for CNBC.
Amazon has a deal with One Medical.
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