Amazon is erasing the distance between the doctor’s office and the pharmacy with the introduction of new Amazon Pharmacy kiosks that can quickly dispense medications to patients after a medical appointment.
The kiosks will initially be located inside offices for One Medical, Amazon’s primary healthcare company, in locations across the greater Los Angeles area starting in December. Expansion to additional One Medical offices and other locations is expected soon after.
The goal of the freestanding kiosks is to facilitate easier filling of prescriptions, eliminating the need for an extra trip or waiting in line at a conventional pharmacy.
According to Amazon, the kiosks will be stocked with a wide range of commonly prescribed medications, including antibiotics, inhalers, and blood pressure medications. Controlled substances and medications requiring refrigeration are not available. The inventory is tailored to the prescribing patterns of each office location.
The initiative is not without human intervention — cameras inside the kiosks allow an Amazon pharmacist to get a live view and review medications before they are dispensed, and those pharmacists can also answer any patient questions via a video or phone consultation.
Giving customers a pickup point is a departure for Amazon Pharmacy, which works via home delivery of medications. Hannah McClellan, vice president of operations for Amazon Pharmacy, told GeekWire that Amazon is prepared to scale the kiosks beyond the L.A. rollout.
“We do have many more kiosks ready to go,” McClellan said. “I see One Medical as a launch pad for the kiosk, but I think they have runway far beyond One Medical, and frankly, far beyond primary care offices. There’s so many ways that they can drastically improve the pharmacy pickup experience today.”
The Seattle area has eight One Medical locations, and McClellan said Amazon’s hometown could be “high on the list” for where kiosks are placed.
The tamper-resistant kiosks weigh approximately 1,700 pounds and are secured to the floor, with additional security features including vibration sensors and surveillance cameras to discourage break-ins. Amazon says patient information is protected in accordance with HIPAA regulations and the entire system has undergone rigorous testing and regulatory review.
There is no additional fee to use a kiosk for Prime and non-Prime members. Patients pay only for their prescription medications, and insurance is accepted just as with traditional pharmacy options.
Amazon’s ultimate hope is that convenience cuts back on the nearly one-third of prescriptions in the U.S. that are never filled each year, leading to better health outcomes and billions in preventable healthcare costs.
“This is not a watered-down version of a pharmacy,” McClellan said. “We have cut zero corners. Every single thing that’s available to you at a retail pharmacy pickup is available to you here. We really have just brought the pharmacy experience to your provider office, and made it incredibly fast and transparent.”
Amazon launched the Amazon Pharmacy service in November 2020, following its $753 million acquisition of prescription-by-mail company PillPack in 2018. The company announced its $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical in July 2022 and closed the deal in February 2023. In February 2024, Amazon cut hundreds of jobs from both health care units.
