Amazon Is Buying One Medical So It Can Be Your Doctor, Too

Amazon is your bookstore, your last-minute phone charger provider — and now, it could also become your doctor.

The retail conglomerate completed its purchase of One Medical, which provides in-person and virtual clinic services on Wednesday, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it would not hinder the sale, CNN reported.

However, the FTC did say its investigation into the purchase was not over. The deal valued the healthcare company at about $3.9 billion.

One Medical is a modern, startup-style chain of clinics that promises same-day appointments online or in-person, per its website.

The purchase is part of Amazon’s continued push into healthcare. For example, the company started Amazon Care, a telehealth service, in 2019. In February, the company announced it would bring in-person services to 20 cities.

“We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention,” Neil Lindsay, SVP of Amazon Health Services, said in a press release about the deal in July 2022. He added the company hopes to make healthcare access more efficient.

One Medical also provides employee benefit plans and has clients including Google and Allbirds, per its website. It reported net revenue of a little over $254 Million in Q1 2022.

“There is an immense opportunity to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable, and even enjoyable for patients, providers, and payers,” Amir Dan Rubin, One Medical CEO, said in the earlie statement.

Per CNN, the FTC still has its eyes on the situation. “The commission will continue to look at possible harms to competition created by this merger, as well as possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical,” FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said.