Ah, yes – our body’s least favorite time of the year. Sneezing and coughing our heads off, trying to figure out if it’s a cold, the flu, RSV, or COVID-19. And guess who’s ready to help? The new Amazon Clinic.
At a time when it's difficult to get a doctor's appointment and the doc-in-the-box clinics are probably jam-packed with others enveloped in their own personal hackathon, Amazon Clinic says it’s open 24/7 and ready to help anyone who’s suffering from cough, or cold or flu.
Pretty simple process
All you have to do is select those symptoms from its “Find a treatment” list on Amazon Clinic via Amazon.com or the Amazon mobile app. From there, you can look over a list of available telehealth providers, compare pricing and response times, and lock in with the one who can fit your schedule and budget the best.
Through a secure messaging portal or scheduled video visit, patients connect with a licensed clinician without an appointment or insurance. Simple as that.
Then, a clinician will provide a treatment plan, which could include a prescription that can be filled by Amazon Pharmacy, the company’s full-service online pharmacy that ticks all the boxes by offering fast, free delivery on prescription medications in all 50 states and Washington D.C.
The Clinic’s services don’t end there. It continues for 14 days after you receive your treatment plan, allowing unlimited messaging with your clinician where you can ask questions about your treatment or change or adjust your medication.
Amazon’s not trying to strongarm anyone into using the Amazon Clinic, either. It also features resource pages on each condition with detailed information on symptoms, testing, and treatment options so you can make the call whether or not you need to talk to a professional.
“With conditions like the flu, getting treatment quickly after the onset of symptoms really matters,” said Dr. Nworah Ayogu, chief medical officer and general manager of Amazon Clinic. “By quickly connecting with a provider who understands their condition, customers can explore options for relief and get the care that’s right for them in a matter of minutes or hours, not days or weeks.”
Cost, waiting time, insurance
Amazon Clinic offers two basic options to meet with a clinician – video chat and text messaging. From what ConsumerAffairs saw, the prices for the video version were typically $74 and $35 for text. And that price was consistent for all the symptoms that ConsumerAffairs checked -- COVID-19, athlete’s foot, migraines, and high blood pressure.
But who you get as the service provider depends on where you live. For example, in Kansas, Vermont, Minnesota, and Kentucky, there are providers. In Alabama, Texas, Massachusetts, and Missouri, both video and text chat are available, but there was no provider listed for the video version like there was in other states.
Average wait times vary, too. Just because this service is virtual does not mean it’s instantaneous. When ConsumerAffairs looked at wait times – at 8 a.m. on a Monday – on average, the wait time for video chat was 55 minutes and 2 hours 25 minutes for text chat. But, those times are likely to change depending on the time of day and as more people sign up for services
The last important piece of information you need to know is Amazon Clinic visits aren’t covered by insurance and don’t include the cost of medication.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2023-10-31 17:55:09