Healthcare Design - May 2023 - 9

ED ITO RIAL
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Hank Adams HDR
PRIME TIME
Amazon's new move into primary care leverages
an existing model that may allow it to fi nally
revolutionize the space By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis
MY MOM WAS recently dealing with a health issue
and did what we all do: She called her primary
care doctor and made an appointment for the fi rst
spot available on the schedule. After waiting several
days to get in, she then spent what felt like even
longer waiting alone in an exam room for an exam
that never ended up happening. Why? She waited
so long that she eventually gave up and walked out.
A day later the doctor called to apologize and
then a week later she was back for the appointment,
ultimately spending far too much time on an
issue that a quick prescription resolved.
It's an extreme example of the inconvenience of traditional care, but we've
all been there in one way or another.
So when I read the news of Amazon closing its deal to acquire One Medical
for $3.9 billion, I joined the rest of the world in speculating if the move might
change the playing fi eld for good. Could " frustration-free primary care " truly
exist-and, more importantly, at scale?
Today, One Medical is a membership-based, tech-integrated primary care
platform that operates 188 clinics in 29 markets. It leans into the tech part, too,
providing care access via its app as well as 24/7 virtual services. For in-person
visits, One Medical provides same- and next-day appointments as well as walkin,
on-site laboratories in its community-based offi ces.
And it all sounds radically diff erent than what my mom and many of us have
experienced.
In fact, we ran this as a pull quote in our last issue, when the news broke at
press time, and I'll repeat it here: " If you fast forward 10 years from now, people
are not going to believe how primary care was administered, " said Amazon
CEO Andy Jassy in a press release on the acquisition.
It's a big promise, and not everyone is buying it. This isn't Amazon's first
foray into healthcare, but what this move does give the retail giant is an existing
model that seems to be working-particularly when it comes to employer
participation (One Medical works with 8,000 companies).
But, still, the One Medical of today is a boutique care provider with nowhere
near the number of sites as the retail clinics of CVS and Walgreens, for example.
But pundits anticipate Amazon should be able to scale quickly.
As the ongoing evolution of primary care continues to unfold, the speculation
on this side of the coin is that perhaps one day soon, the bulk of your
project work really will be mostly acute, as more and more care is delivered
virtually and physical clinics are templated and rapidly reproduced without
much design.
Will this be what solidifi es the shift? One Medical memberships are on sale
now, and it's feeling a lot like Prime Day. 
Wayne Barger SMITHGROUP
Carolyn BaRoss PERKINS&WILL
Sam Burnette EARL SWENSSON ASSOCIATES
Sheila F. Cahnman JUMPGARDEN CONSULTING LLC
Thomas W. Chessum CO ARCHITECTS
James Crispino GENSLER
Christine Hester Devens AECOM
Mary Frazier EWINGCOLE
Jocelyn Lum Frederick HC TANGRAM DESIGN
Catherine L. Gow FRANCIS CAUFFMAN
Natalie Miovski Hagerty
THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
Suzen L. Heeley
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER
Walter Jones METROHEALTH SYSTEM
Randy Keiser TURNER CONSTRUCTION CO.
Julie Kent TRINITY HEALTH
Eric Koffl er NBBJ
Tiana Lemons ORCUTT/WINSLOW
Michael Lied GBBN ARCHITECTS
Mike McKay UW HEALTH
Solvei Neiger ZGF
Kurt Neubek PAGE
Don Orndoff KAISER PERMANENTE
Diane R.K. Osan CANNONDESIGN
Chris Powers BURNS & MCDONNELL
Scott Rawlings HOK
William D. Repichowskyj E4H ARCHITECTURE
Betsy Sanchez HCA HEALTHCARE
Kim Shinn TLC ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
Janet H. Sisolak UT MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Kurt Spiering FLAD ARCHITECTS
Steve Stokes GRESHAM SMITH
Jeff rey C. Stouff er HKS INC.
Jocelyn Stroupe CANNONDESIGN
Joshua A. Theodore LEO A DALY
Anthony Treu SKIDMORE, OWINGS & MERRILL
Travis Tyson CLEVELAND CLINIC
Gary L. Vance VANCE CONSULTING
Roderic Walton MOODY NOLAN
MAY 2023
09
Healthcare Design - May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - May 2023
