Echo Dot
Teladoc Health announced Monday that it’s partnering with Amazon to offer voice-activated, 24/7 non-emergency general medical care through certain smart speakers. Customers will be able to access Teladoc on Alexa with supported Echo devices, including Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show.
A spokesperson declined to disclose the terms of the partnership.
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Initially it will be an audio-based telehealth service with video visits coming soon, according to the announcement, although no specific date was provided.
Customers with enabled devices will simply say, “Alexa, I want to talk to a doctor” to connect with the Teladoc call center for virtual visits related to non-medical emergencies. That could range from getting advice on a child’s earache or Covid-19-related advice to a consult for flu, a cough or an infection.
Customers should typically get a callback on their Echo device from a Teladoc physician within 15 minutes depending on call volume and queue length. However, members may experience longer than usual wait times currently due to the Covid-19 crisis. The cost per visit will depend on insurance, and could be as low as $0 for an insured customer who doesn’t have to pay a copay to $75 for a person without insurance, according to Teladoc, which is based in Purchase, New York.
“Our goal with this launch is to make healthcare access even easier for customers,” said Donna Boyer, chief product officer for Teladoc, in an email provided by a representative.
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Some patients have already used Alexa to connect with care at hospitals like Cedars-Sinai and Boston Children’s as well as some assisted living facilities, where Seattle-based Amazon touted using smart speakers as an easy way to communicate with staff.
Health tech companies have also developed applications based on Alexa’s voice-activated technology. Nurx launched the Birth Control and Sexual Health Knowledge Skill for Alexa last year, so people could get birth control reminders and answers to sexual health questions easily.
The partnership is evidence of a broader shift in healthcare where companies that otherwise compete are finding opportunities to collaborate. Both Teladoc and Amazon Care (Amazon’s virtual and in-person care delivery business that went from pilot mode to now available nationwide) compete in the realm of telemedicine. In fact plenty of cyber ink has been spilled on whether Teladoc should be wary of Amazon Care. But this partnership seems to be showing that fierce competitors can also work together where it makes sense — in this case leveraging a consumer tech that is established in many homes with the virtual physician network that Teladoc has built up over the years.
“We’re excited to work with Teladoc Health to offer our customers an easy, hands-free way to connect with a doctor,” said Debra Chrapaty, vice president and chief operating officer at Amazon Alexa, in a statement. “Whether they’re taking care of their sick child in the middle of the night or wanting to ask a doctor about allergy symptoms in between meetings during the day, we hope this experience will help customers find the convenient help they want from the comfort of their own home.”
Photo: Amazon