Amazon restructures health services, strengthening pharmacy, patient care
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Amazon Health Services, the healthcare arm of the e-commerce giant, is undergoing a significant restructuring, splitting into six divisions to streamline operations and strengthen its pharmacy business.
The move follows years of acquisitions and service launches, signaling a sharper focus on improving patient experiences in a fragmented healthcare market.
Streamlining health services to enhance patient experience
Amazon Health Services Senior Vice President told CNBC that the restructuring aims to address the lack of coordination between patients and customers, which often leads to poor healthcare delivery.
“Our leadership team has been focused on simplifying our structure to move faster and continue to innovate effectively,” he added.
In the new structure, internal leaders are assigned to respective “pillars”:
- One Medical Clinical Care Delivery, led by Dr. Andrew Diamond
- One Medical Clinical Operations and Performance, led by Suzanne Hansen
- AHS Strategic Growth and Network Development, led by John Singerling
- AHS Store, Tech and Marketing, led by Prakash Bulusu
- AHS Compliance, led by Kim Otte
- AHS Pharmacy Services, led by John Love
The company aims to introduce a more streamlined healthcare environment by consolidating its units. The restructuring follows the departures of Amazon’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sunita Mishra, and Amazon’s Vice President of Health Care, Aaron Martin, in May.
Doubling down on pharmacy growth amid healthcare push
Amazon has also zeroed in on improving its pharmacy business. Last month, Amazon Pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager Serve You Rx announced a partnership for home delivery of maintenance medications.
According to Tanvi Patel, Vice President and General Manager of Amazon Pharmacy, Amazon’s alliance with Serve You RX represents a significant step forward in shaping the future of pharmacy access, offering transparent pricing and 24/7 pharmacist support.
“Our collaboration with Serve You Rx represents a meaningful step forward in transforming the pharmacy experience,” Patel noted.
This new initiative complements its 2018 acquisition of PillPack, a service that sorts and delivers prescription medications in pre-sorted packets. PillPack is also experimenting with drone delivery for faster access to medications.
Restructuring for better reach, service
The reorganization of Amazon’s health services underscores the increasing importance of outsourcing within the healthcare industry, particularly in the pharmacy sector and patient care planning.
Through rescission and collaborations with third-party providers, such as Serve You Rx, Amazon is harnessing third-party expertise to improve efficiency.
The growth of drone deliveries and home medication delivery further underscores how outsourcing logistics and pharmacy benefit management is a seamless way to ensure operational efficiency.
