Amazon recently rolled out its artificial intelligence health-care assistant in the United States for the members of its primary care chain One Medical, joining OpenAI and Anthropic, which have launched similar features.
The tool is called Health AI and uses large language models from Amazon’s Bedrock service to answer questions and provide members with personalised advice based on their medical history.
It also assists with managing medications and booking appointments with a user's One Medical provider.
Amazon Health Services senior vice president, Neil Lindsay, said the AI assistant will help create a less fragmented health care experience.
“Health AI in the One Medical app brings together all the pieces of your personal health information to give you a more complete picture—helping you understand your health, and supporting you in getting the care you need to get and stay well,” he said.
“Health AI makes getting health care easier and more convenient, so patients can focus on what matters most: their health.”
The Health AI will appear in the One Medical app, which was a company that Amazon acquired in 2023 for US$3.9 billion.
One Medical has in-person clinics and also offers tele-health services for members who pay between US$99 and US$199 a year for its services.
Amazon said that the AI isn’t intended to provide diagnosis or treatment, and conversations with it won’t be added to a patient’s medical records.
Before launching the AI to the public, the company began testing it last spring among a subset of One Medical members.
This follows OpenAI launching ChatGPT Health, a feature within its chatbot that can offer users personalised advice based on uploaded medical records.
Anthropic also launched Claude for Healthcare shortly after.
According to Amazon, Health AI will be easier for patients to use as they won’t have to upload medical records from outside sources or connect to outside apps and will be “more actionable" compared to other offerings.
“One Medical’s Health AI assistant knows your health story, can take actions based on a patient’s request, and keeps your trusted providers in the lead,” Lindsay told CNBC.
“It’s the difference between getting answers and getting care.”
One Medical isn’t Amazon’s only venture into health, as it also bought online pharmacy PillPack for around US$750 million in 2018, before and then launched Amazon Pharmacy two years later.
