Amazon is adding AI-powered assistant to One Medical
Amazon, an AI-powered assistant for One Medical, the cutting-edge primary care provider. Dubbed “Health AI,” Amazon claims the tool “provides personalized health advice 24/7, based on your medical records.”
The company says Health AI can explain lab results, help manage medications, and make appointments for patients. Amazon also claims to be able to “analyze images”, but does not specify whether it is medical imaging or photos uploaded by users. While the company specifically states that the tool “supplements, but does not replace,” a patient’s healthcare provider, it also vaguely states that the AI can “answer general and complex health questions” while “taking into account your unique medical history.”
“Health AI recognizes when specific symptoms, situations, or queries require or benefit from human clinical judgment,” the company’s announcement read, while giving few details about how much medical advice the AI tool is empowered to give.
The use of AI tools raises data privacy concerns, and Amazon says it follows HIPAA-compliant privacy and security practices. The company says a user’s conversations with Health AI “are not automatically added to your medical record.” This of course implies the possibility of doing just that. It also says the company does not sell its members’ protected health information.
One Medical has a limited number of physical offices in major U.S. metros, but the company appears to be focusing on telehealth services. These services are offered as part of an annual subscription, which receives a discount for Amazon Prime members. This is just the latest investment Amazon has made in healthcare. In recent years, the tech giant has entered some markets and expanded into prescription drugs.
Health AI follows the trend of AI companies competing to enter the healthcare industry with their AI-powered chatbots. Google added an AI health coach to the Fitbit app, and OpenAI announced one within ChatGPT in January.
