Amazon Medical has been sued by the family of a late California man, who allegedly died after a virtual healthcare visit with the company.
Here are 10 things that ASCs need to know:
1. Philip Tong complained he was short of breath, coughing up blood and his feet were turning blue to an One Medical telehealth provider, who prescribed an inhaler.
2. Mr. Tong collapsed and died at an Oakland, Calif., hospital, which is also named in the lawsuit, later that day
3. This appears to be the first wrongful death lawsuit filed against One Medical, according to The Washington Post. The lawsuit alleges the virtual care provider failed to recognize the severity of his symptoms and did not direct him to emergency care.
4.The lawsuit is a "wake-up call about the pitfalls of prioritizing corporate growth over patient safety in health care," Owais Durrani, MD, an emergency medicine physician in Houston, Texas, wrote in a Dec. 28 op-ed in MSNBC.
5. "This wrongful death claim underscores the risks inherent in a healthcare model that prioritizes scalability and efficiency over the nuances of medical decision-making," Dr. Durrani continued.
6. According to the MSNBC report, the lawsuit also accuses One Medical of employing inadequately trained staff.
7. Amazon finalized its $3.9 billion acquisition of virtual and in-person primary care company One Medical in February 2023. The deal gave Amazon access to more than 200 brick-and-mortar physicians offices and roughly 815,000 One Medical members.
8. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon seems to be using a concierge approach with a monthly fee to offer services, but has "so far struggled to turn itself into a major player in healthcare." This year, it has announced plans to close some corporate One Medical offices and also eliminated a few hundred roles at One Medical and in its online pharmacy unit Amazon Pharmacy.
9. "The lawsuit against Amazon One Medical highlights broader concerns about the health care industry’s rapid embrace of tech-driven models," Dr. Durrani wrote. "Unlike other industries, health care cannot prioritize speed and scalability without significant consequences. Telehealth companies often behave like tech startups, scaling aggressively to capture market share. This approach, although effective in tech, can be disastrous in health care, where lives are at stake."
10. Amazon One Medical is "prohibited by law from discussing patient records," a company spokesperson told Becker's.
"We care deeply about every patient we serve, and the quality and safety of our care are our highest priorities," the spokesperson said. "We're proud of our extensive quality and safety measures, and of the health outcomes we help our patients achieve. We take concerns about our care extremely seriously, and we're committed to continuous improvement."