Amazon Installing Automated Medication Kiosks At Clinics
- Reference: 0179717166
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/10/08/2011229/amazon-installing-automated-medication-kiosks-at-clinics
- Source link:
> The kiosks will be the first in-person pick-up service offered by Amazon Pharmacy, which has been providing prescription services primarily by delivery, said Hannah McClellan Richards, a vice president at Amazon Pharmacy. One Medical offers a membership structure that allows patients to access primary and urgent care at a subscription fee of $199 annually. Patients without a membership are still able to book an appointment and would be able to use the kiosk, the company said.
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> Richards said in an interview that the company plans to expand the kiosk model outside of California in 2026 and is in talks with external health systems to introduce the machines through partnerships. Amazon does not plan to offer medicines that must be refrigerated, such as GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, or more tightly regulated prescriptions like controlled pain medicines through the kiosk. Inventory for each kiosk will be tailored to the provider, and patients would be able to consult a company pharmacist virtually, Amazon said in a [2]press release .
[1] https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/amazon-pharmacy-launch-electronic-kiosks-prescriptions-one-medical-locations-2025-10-08/
[2] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-pharmacy-kiosks-one-medical
Hmm... (Score:2)
> Amazon Installing Automated Medication Kiosks At Clinics
I can see the ad now...
> Kiosk: I have processed that you are in distress, and I have prescribed anti-depressants. Compliments of the Galactic Federation - I mean, Amazon.
> Patient: [consumed the pills] I feel better
> Kiosk: Your debt is 7,000 Fed credits - I mean dollars. Report to the Ministry of Employment and you will be assigned a function.
> Patient: I got a job!
Good! (Score:3)
Right now I need to go to a pharmacy, drop off my prescription (if it's not electronic), and then wait for somebody to count out pills into a box. And there must be a pharmacist present in case I have questions.
And all of this even if you're buying a pack of antibiotics for an ear infection.
Re: (Score:2)
The medical field is ripe for a technology disruption. Already robots and a trained AI can scan biopsy slides faster and more accurately than a human pathologist for several different diseases, can read scans better than most radiologists, and the only reason why most pharmacists still have a job is the inertia of the insurance cartels.
Re: (Score:2)
Building a glorified vending machine is not disruptive. This is actually a head scratcher given amazon's clear market leading logistics. They can't make any money doing this. Pharmacists are not the enemy. They do serve an important role in making sure people get what they are supposed to. The support staff in pharmacies is shockingly incompetent at doing simple tasks correctly every time.
Re: (Score:1)
Take your meds, we don't care where you get them from but please take them.
Re: (Score:1)
> Anything that takes their power away I'm all for it. Let robot doctors and robot perscriptions take over 100% as far as I'm concerned. If you've been to a doctor recently and been given your 8-minutes with them as they try to use it all up by talking and giving you advice before they even know what's wrong and then hustling you out the door, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.
There's been a couple times in my life where I had a bad enough cold/flu/whatever that I had a member of my family demand I go see a physician. One time I had the physician announce I had a cold, as if I didn't know that, then told me to take Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I wasn't exactly happy to hear that since I was expecting something prescribed but I went along because I was much younger and stupider then. Another time I don't recall so well as I was even further out of thinking straight and I was again to