Amazon Care in-person health services to expand to 20 new cities

Amazon Care, the company's health care service, will continue its national expansion in 2022. In-person care services will soon be available in 20 new cities, including New York and San Francisco,  Amazon  said Tuesday.

"The expansion comes as we continue to invest in growing our clinical care team and our in-person care services to bring convenient, quality care to more customers across the US," the company said in a statement. Other cities where Amazon Care's in-person service will be available later this year include Chicago and Miami.

Until now, Amazon Care's in-person services were limited to a short list of cities, including Seattle, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, Washington and Arlington. The service was originally available only to Amazon employees in Washington state, where the company is based. Silicon Labs, TrueBlue and Whole Foods Market – which is owned by Amazon – are among the new customers offering Amazon Care to their employees, the company said.

Amazon Care provides immediate access to a wide range of urgent and primary care services, including COVID-19 and flu testing, vaccinations, treatment of illnesses and injuries, preventive care, sexual health and prescription requests and refills, the company said. The service combines virtual health attention with in-person services. If additional in-person care is needed, Amazon Care dispatches a nurse practitioner to the patient's home.

The company's care services expansion announcement comes at a time when health care competitors like Walgreens are making big investments in the virtual health care service space.

Amazon Care is not the technology giant's only foray into care services. Alexa Care Hub, which launched at the end of 2020, allows caretakers to monitor activity and receive alerts about their aging loved ones without having to constantly bother them with anxiety-driven "check-ins."

Amazon didn't reply immediately to a request for additional comment.