One Medical, a primary care provider, is being acquired by Amazon for approximately $3.9 billion, the companies said Thursday.
Amazon used the acquisition of PillPack to launch its own online pharmacy years after buying it. In addition, Amazon has plans to develop at- home medical diagnostics.
The medical data of hundreds of thousands of One Medical customers would be in the hands of Amazon.
The recent news that Amazon gave police footage from its Ring cameras without customers' knowledge or consent has raised concerns about the company's track record with customer data.
"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." Fight for the Future is a group that focuses on technology and digital rights. I don't think Amazon can make people trust them with their healthcare information.
Amazon stated in an email to CNBC that it wouldn't use customer medical data for marketing or advertising. "Should the deal close, One Medical customers' HIPAA Protected Health Information will be handled separately from all other Amazon businesses, as required by law," the Amazon spokesman told CNBC.
While privacy and data concerns from customers are valid, One Medical CEO said in a statement that the purchase would provide an "immense opportunity to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable and even enjoyable for patients, providers, and payers."
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