Dive Brief:
Amazon has restructured its healthcare business following mixed performance from its offerings in the sector and the recent departure of several high-level executives.
The reorganization, which Amazon completed in May, is meant to simplify Amazon Health Services’ structure, according to Neil Lindsay, AHS’ senior vice president, and a company spokesperson.
Longtime Amazon executives and a handful of leaders at One Medical, Amazon’s care delivery arm, were selected to oversee the new divisions.
Dive Insight:
Amazon first elbowed its way into the healthcare industry roughly one decade ago, and has since built a multifaceted bench of offerings, including online marketplaces for telehealth, chronic condition management and pharmacy, and a national physician network through its 2023 acquisition of One Medical.
However, not all of the e-commerce giant’s swings have connected. Amazon closed Amazon Care, its hybrid physical and virtual care business, in 2022. One year prior, the company shut down Haven, its joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan to lower healthcare costs for employers. Both struggled getting customer buy-in and ran into unexpected challenges in their bid to innovate in the deeply entrenched healthcare industry.
But more recently, Amazon has touted momentum in its healthcare division. The tech behemoth doesn’t share financial information for AHS, but has prioritized growth: working to open new One Medical offices in states like New Jersey, New York and Ohio and reporting strong uptake of its pharmacy offerings, thanks to investments in consumer-centric services like same-day medication delivery and allowing caregivers to control drug orders on their patients’ behalf.
And now, Amazon is revamping AHS entirely in a bid to spur continued expansion.
The six units created in AHS’ restructuring are helmed entirely by current Amazon executives, including some who have been at the company for decades. Many joined the company from its $3.9 billion purchase of One Medical — one of Amazon’s largest acquisitions ever.
AHS’ six new divisions and their leadership
“These updates reflect a broader strategy to better deliver for patients and accelerate innovation across the business. We’re excited about the continued momentum across Amazon Health Services, and remain deeply committed to our mission of making healthcare easier,” Lindsay said in an emailed statement.
Amazon has not enacted any “broad” layoffs as part of the restructuring, a spokesperson said. The company cut hundreds of jobs across Amazon Pharmacy and One Medical last year.
Amazon also announced that Ann Allen, the chief operating officer of One Medical, is moving to a new role overseeing Amazon’s partner relationships with health systems. Amazon plans to backfill Allen’s role.
News of the restructuring, which was first reported by CNBC, comes three months after One Medical CEO Trent Green left the company to helm a healthcare analytics firm. Dr. Vin Gupta, the chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy, also left in February. Two other high-level executives — Aaron Martin, Amazon’s vice president of healthcare, and Dr. Sunita Mishra, Amazon’s chief medical officer — also left in May, according to CNBC.
It’s not clear whether Martin and Mishra left as part of the restructuring, which took place the same month. The Amazon spokesperson did not comment on the matter.
