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Why Cleveland Clinic, Amazon One Medical Are Partnering on Primary Care

Analysis  |  By Jay Asser  
   October 28, 2024

Northeast Ohio will see new primary care clinics in the coming years, combining the strengths of the two organizations.

Amazon One Medical continues to partner with health systems on primary care when it enters a new market.

Cleveland Clinic is the latest organization to join forces with One Medical, with the two sides set to leverage each other’s capabilities to expand primary care in northeast Ohio. Through the partnership, Cleveland Clinic will be able to offer its patients access to One Medical’s care model at new facilities, while One Medical will get the academic health system’s network of specialists and hospitals.

The first joint primary care location will open in 2025, with Cleveland Clinic and One Medical determining where to open additional clinics over the next several years.

One Medical has partnered with numerous health systems to build out its primary care services. The deals allow the company to cut down on the expenses required to put up and maintain brick-and-mortar clinics, which have been difficult to scale for other retailers.

Walmart and Walgreens are examples of retreats in the primary care, with the former selling its MeMD virtual care business to telehealth startup Fabric and closing all 51 of its health centers, and the latter planning to cut its stake in primary care clinic chain VillageMD.

Amazon has dealt with its own set of challenges in the space, but has settled on One Medical as its consolidated primary care and telehealth platform after acquiring the company for $3.9 billion last year.

One Medical offers same and next-day appointments, along with around-the-clock virtual care through the Amazon one Medical mobile app. Amazon Prime members can add One Medical benefits to their membership at a discount, making the services widely accessible.

That integration is appealing to partnering health systems, who are aiming to provide more of a retail experience. Hospital operators will also increase their volume with One Medical sending patients to them to receive speciality care.

“This collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment from both organizations to meet the needs of our patients and to enhance the care we provide to our communities,” Tom Mihaljevic, Cleveland Clinic CEO and president, said in a statement. “Amazon One Medical will complement our current primary care offerings, enabling patient access to essential health services.”

Jay Asser is the CEO editor for HealthLeaders. 


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Cleveland Clinic and Amazon One Medical are teaming up to build a primary care office in 2025 and additional locations in the following years.

It’s another instance of One Medical forming a relationship with a health system to help fund clinics and grow its network.

Retailers have struggled to scale their primary care business and compete directly with traditional providers.


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