Getting a hold of a doctor when you need one just got easier. On Monday, telehealth services company Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC, Financial) announced that it has teamed up with Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Financial)'s Alexa to offer voice-activated virtual care services.
The service, said to be intended for patients with health issues that are not emergencies, will be available on Amazon Alexa devices, including the Echo, the Echo Dot and Echo Show, the company said.
Teladoc officials said that customers can now say "Alexa, I want to talk to a doctor" to an Echo device and customers will then get a call back on their Echo devices from a Teladoc doctor for virtual visits related to non-emergency health needs, such as experiencing symptoms of a cold, flu, or allergies. The service will reportedly range in cost from free with insurance to $75 without insurance.
Shares of Teladoc shot up 12.7% in premarket trading on Monday following an announcement before settling to a more modest 5% gain in midday trading. Teladoc's stock had tumbled 35.5% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 has lost 4.6%.
Amazon already dispenses prescription drugs and is expanding an Amazon Care program it launched in 2019 that offers telemedicine visits with an option to send a care provider to the patient if they need an in-person visit."Teladoc Health's collaboration with Amazon is yet another step in breaking down barriers to healthcare access," said Teladoc Chief Product Officer Donna Boyer. "By introducing and integrating our virtual first care experience with Echo devices, we are providing an innovative and convenient way for users to connect with a doctor."
“We’re excited to work with Teladoc Health to offer our customers an easy, hands-free way to connect with a doctor,” said Debra Chrapaty, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Amazon Alexa. “Whether they’re taking care of their sick child in the middle of the night or wanting to ask a doctor about allergy symptoms in between meetings during the day, we hope this experience will help customers find the convenient help they want from the comfort of their own home.”
The partnership is aligned with Amazon’s ongoing expansion into the health care industry. “The company has its own telehealth service, Amazon Care, which was initially available to Amazon employees and has since been expanded to other companies,” noted The Verge. “It also launched an elder care service in December that connects with an emergency hotline and can pair with fall detection hardware.”
Telemedicine came into its own as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the number of patients using it has trailed off as people have grown used to living with Covid, usage has remained higher than it was before Covid.
“Telehealth now is something that patients have gotten used to and may come to expect as an option for their care,” said Lori Uscher-Pines, a senior policy researcher with Rand Corp. “(Before) the pandemic, there might not have been this much awareness that this was a service that was available.”
