Amazon is no stranger to experimenting in healthcare even if it means acknowledging failure. Its latest bold venture? In-office pharmacy kiosks at One Medical offices so patients can access their prescriptions immediately after their appointment.
Starting in December, these kiosks will be available at One Medical locations in various parts of the Los Angeles area, such as Downtown L.A., Beverly Hills, Long Beach and West Hollywood. The company plans to expand to other locations in the future.
While an interesting foray, the idea of medical kiosks is hardly new, say industry observers. Moreover, the challenge of physical maintenance of the kiosks may not be a small one. But given Amazon’s scale, people are definitely paying attention to the announcement as they have all other Amazon health news in the past. One expert pointed out that the company is exaggerating its ability to benefit access in resource-strained areas of the country given that it’s tied to One Medical locations that are largely urban and affluent.
But first things first. What’s in the kiosks?
The kiosks will carry commonly prescribed medications, including for infections, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic conditions. They will not provide controlled substances or specialty medications. The inventory at each kiosk will be specialized to the prescribing patterns of each location.
To access medications at the kiosks, patients will create an Amazon Pharmacy account, schedule an appointment at a participating One Medical location and ask the provider to send a prescription to Amazon Pharmacy.
The patient can then check out on the Amazon app and choose a kiosk for pickup and pay with their preferred method, whether that be via their insurance or credit card. Patients will be able to view upfront costs, such as available discounts and insurance copays. They’ll receive a QR code to scan at the kiosk. If they have any questions, they can connect with an Amazon pharmacist for a video or phone consultation right at the kiosk or later.
Amazon launched the kiosks to remove a common barrier to accessing treatment: the need to make a second trip to the pharmacy following a doctor’s visit, according to Hannah McClellan, VP of operations at Amazon Pharmacy.
“Nearly one-third of prescriptions in the U.S. are never filled, often because of the friction between diagnosis and medication pickup,” McClellan said in an email. “By bringing the pharmacy experience directly to the doctor’s office, we’re helping patients get the medications they need faster, with the clinical support they expect from a pharmacy.”
While the kiosks may seem like a great idea in theory, at least one investor thinks they will be deceivingly difficult to execute.
“There’s just a lot of impediments to the model… the cost of running these kiosks, running a network of kiosks with power, maintenance, repairs, is very, very expensive — it’s exceedingly expensive,” said Michael Greeley, cofounder and general partner of Flare Capital Partners, in an interview.
There is also a cleanliness problem following the Covid-19 pandemic, as people may not want to be touching a machine for medications. And patients may want more privacy than the kiosks will allow — though having them placed in medical settings like One Medical may offer a little more privacy, Greeley noted.
He added that this concept isn’t necessarily new. Several other companies have tried to launch similar models and failed. For example, primary care company Forward introduced CarePods in malls and office buildings, where patients could get their blood drawn and throat swabbed. The company shut down in 2024. HealthSpot also offered telemedicine kiosks, but shut down in 2016.
However, Amazon may be in a better position to scale these kiosks than some of these other companies, with Greeley adding that he would “never bet against Amazon.”
Others are a little less skeptical of these kiosks, such as Dan Zohorsky, managing partner at Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of insurer CareFirst. He called the kiosks innovative and said they have the potential to address challenges with access to prescription drugs.
“Inconvenience and a clunky experience are a key driver of patients not filling or abandoning their prescriptions in the US,” Zohorsky said. “The unenviable two-stop experience — in which patients must first visit a provider’s office, and then travel to a retail pharmacy — has only become worse as the number of retail pharmacies in the US has shrunk dramatically over the last 10 years.”
Another healthcare expert said this will likely boost revenue for Amazon.
“From a patient behavior [point of view], Amazon’s kiosks may also serve as a teaser to bridge between a medication’s first fill and any recurring refills via the PillPack acquisition,” said Warren Templeton, managing director at Health2047, a venture studio for the American Medical Association. “Amazon likely pinpointed revenue leakage between OneMedical and PillPack, and this is the solution: when you are unwell, waiting a day for medication deliveries is less desirable than running to your local pharmacy.”
What will make Amazon’s kiosks successful?
Amazon needs to hit three marks in order for the kiosks to be successful, according to Templeton. First, they need to capture sales through One Medical locations. The kiosks also have to be stocked well enough to fill each patient’s entire prescription, not just part of it, he added. Lastly, the cost of the prescriptions have to be comparable to existing dispensing locations.
“Consumers have become accustomed to shopping for prescriptions. Different PBMs get different pricing, which is directly tied to the pharmacy’s location,” he said. “Those who are price conscious may seek point of sale transparency, or will likely turn to online pharmacy apps.”
Zohorsky added that the kiosks and app will have to be easy to use, and the prescriptions will have to be dispensed quickly. Consumers will be less patient waiting in line for a kiosk versus the pharmacy counter. He emphasized that a large medication inventory is essential — if patients can’t fill all their prescriptions at the kiosk, they’ll likely stick with their usual pharmacy.
The kiosks will also have to be located outside of One Medical clinics, according to Zohorsky.
“One Medical is a ‘membership’ based primary care model that requires members to pay an out-of-pocket fee to access care. The characterization that these kiosks will improve access in ‘pharmacy deserts’ is misleading, as One Medical clinics are primarily located in affluent areas,” he argued.
When asked if Amazon expects to expand the kiosks to other providers in the future, McClellan noted that the plan is to “explore expansion to additional locations.”
Greeley argued that for the kiosks to be successful, they have to be in semi-supervised environments. And if someone needs help or can’t work the machine, there is a person there for support.
“I would get nervous dispensing drugs because there’s the real risk of abuse,” he added. “I think the more clinical it gets, the more nervous I would get about the model, at least initially, until you really learn about consumer behavior. Do people really want to change this way with healthcare?”
Photo: Flickr, Cerillion Skyline
