Amazon joins the AI health assistant movement

Amazon has become the latest tech company to introduce an AI-powered assistant that is designed to provide health guidance based on medical records.

The agentic assistant, called Health AI, is being rolled out through Amazon's One Medical virtual and bricks-and-mortar primary care service – acquired for $3.9 billion in 2023 – and promises "simpler, personalised, and more actionable healthcare." It follows the launches of OpenAI's ChatGPT for Health assistant and Anthropic's Claude for Healthcare earlier this month.

All three make similar claims, with Amazon saying in a statement that its large language model (LLM)-based assistant can answer health questions, explain lab results, book appointments, and manage medications, tapping into each user's medical history. They are at pains to state that the AIs are not intended to provide diagnosis or treatment.

All three have also emphasised the security and privacy of their platforms and adherence to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) safeguards, although it remains to be seen whether users will be comfortable sharing intimate medical and health information with tech companies.

"Unlike generic health information tools, Health AI understands your medical context without requiring you to manually upload your personal information from multiple healthcare providers and services," said Amazon, which said it is designed to "complement, not replace," the relationship between patients and their healthcare providers.

It added that conversations with the assistant will not be added to health records, and the company has previously said it will not use patient health information to train its AI models.

Health AI will be available to Amazon One Medical members in the One Medical app, and Amazon thinks it will be easier for people to use because it will not require them to upload documents or connect to external apps, according to a CNBC report.

"The US healthcare experience is fragmented, with each provider seeing only parts of your health puzzle," commented Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services.

"Health AI in the One Medical app brings together all the pieces of your personal health information to give you a more complete picture – helping you understand your health, and supporting you in getting the care you need to get and stay well," he added. "Health AI makes getting healthcare easier and more convenient, so patients can focus on what matters most: their health."

Amazon, which has been pushing into the health space for many years, also operates an online pharmacy business – integrated ever more closely with One Medical – as well as a low-cost subscription service for generic medicines, and health monitoring programmes.