SteadyMD, a key player in Amazon Clinic’s nationwide telehealth expansion, discusses its role in the platform’s growth, offering video visits in all 50 states. The CEO highlights the importance of hospital and health system IT leaders recognizing the increasing popularity and specialization of direct-to-consumer telehealth services. They emphasize the need for strategic outsourcing and partnerships with experienced vendors to maintain trust and competitiveness against national telehealth brands.
SteadyMD, a B2B telehealth platform with a nationwide clinician workforce, has played a critical role in providing telehealth services as Amazon Clinic expands into all 50 states. SteadyMD worked closely with Amazon to develop Amazon Clinic and was one of its first service providers when it launched in November 2022.
Today, SteadyMD continues to contribute to Amazon Clinic’s growth, offering video visits across the nation, including in the 16 states where synchronous visits are required. Amazon Clinic users can now seek assistance for various common health concerns, such as urinary tract infections, pink eye, and erectile dysfunction.
SteadyMD serves both major tech giants like Amazon and small primary and urgent care healthcare provider organizations. In this interview, we spoke with Guy Friedman, CEO and co-founder of SteadyMD, to explore their role in the Amazon Clinic venture and shed light on what hospital and health system IT leaders should understand about telehealth companies like SteadyMD amid the rising demand for virtual care.
Q1. Could you elaborate on SteadyMD’s role within the Amazon Clinic offering?
A1. SteadyMD was the telehealth provider on the Amazon Clinic platform at its launch in November last year. We made our technology and nationwide provider network available to Amazon Clinic members. Customers can access SteadyMD’s licensed doctors and nurse practitioners through the Amazon app or the Clinic page to address over 30 common health concerns.
While other provider groups are now accessible to Amazon customers, SteadyMD’s involvement continues to expand. We collaborate on new conditions and features with healthcare leaders at Amazon, ensuring our commitment to enhancing the platform.
Q2. What services did SteadyMD provide via Amazon Clinic during the November 2022 launch?
A2. SteadyMD played a pivotal role in Amazon Clinic’s early stages, exclusively serving during the private beta launch for Amazon employees. Leveraging our nationwide reach and consumer-focused approach, we contributed to the development of user experience, care protocols, patient intake forms, and patient flow management.
As an original participating provider in 32 states at the initial launch, we’ve continued to support Amazon Clinic’s expansion, now offering video visits in all 50 states.
Q3. With Amazon Clinic’s recent expansion to 50 states, including those requiring synchronous visits, what’s the role of SteadyMD’s providers now?
A3. SteadyMD’s nationwide provider network ensures our physicians and clinicians in states requiring synchronous visits will continue delivering exceptional care through video or phone consultations. In states with visit-modality flexibility, consumers can choose between asynchronous or synchronous visits and select from providers offering one or both methods.
It’s essential to note that Amazon Clinic rigorously evaluates all service collaborators, including both synchronous and asynchronous providers. Like other providers on the platform, SteadyMD undergoes continuous clinical quality and customer experience reviews led by Amazon’s clinical leadership team.
Our consistently high-performance levels and resulting customer satisfaction demonstrate our value as a participating provider group.
Q4. Looking ahead, what should hospital and health system IT leaders know about telehealth companies like SteadyMD amid the increasing demand for virtual care?
A4. Hospital and health system leaders should recognize that direct-to-consumer telehealth services are gaining popularity, becoming more specialized, accessible, and affordable in the years to come. This competition extends beyond local providers to well-funded national brands. It includes not only primary care services but also specialized chronic condition and post-acute care with remote monitoring and integrated in-home services.
Complex virtual care services like these will increasingly come from non-local providers, especially as health insurers see how virtual care reduces costly emergency department visits and hospital stays, their highest-revenue services apart from elective surgeries.
Local providers have the advantage of their brand and community trust. However, overextending existing clinicians and IT staff with telehealth visits could negatively impact care quality and the user experience.
Health systems should consider outsourcing as much as possible to ease the burden and choose experienced vendors with a track record of delivering high-quality care. This hybrid telehealth structure can help preserve the trust and name recognition they’ve built, giving them an edge over direct-to-consumer competitors in the growing market.
