Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Technology
February 28, 2022 08:01 AM

Teladoc telehealth services roll out on Amazon's Alexa

Jessica Kim Cohen
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Teledoc-Member-Video-Visit_i.jpg
    Teladoc Health
    Teladoc Health in October launched a virtual primary-care service for commercial and employer health plans.

    Patients in the U.S. are now able to access some virtual healthcare services from Teladoc Health through Amazon's Alexa, the telehealth giant said Monday.

    The partnership with Purchase, New York-based Teladoc is the latest example of Amazon adding health services to its Alexa voice assistant, through which patients can acquire information about common medications, refill prescriptions and schedule visits with certain hospitals.

    To access the new telehealth service, a patient would say, "Alexa, I want to talk to a doctor," to their Alexa device, which will connect them with Teladoc's call center. A Teladoc physician will return the patient's call through the Alexa device. The service is available for non-emergency general medical needs, such as symptoms of cold, flu or allergies.

    "Audio visits are, by far, the most popular and accessible way Teladoc customers do virtual visits today," wrote Donna Boyer, chief product officer at Teladoc, in an email response to questions from Modern Healthcare. "We wanted to bring this experience to all Alexa customers in the U.S. as quickly as possible."

    Teladoc hopes the "hands-free" nature of Alexa will make accessing services from the company more convenient and accessible, according to Boyer.

    Boyer did not share how long the estimated wait to be connected with a doctor would be, but said there may be longer than usual wait times due to the pandemic.

    Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

    The service—available 24/7—will initially launch with audio-only capabilities, but Teladoc plans to add video visits soon, according to a news release.

    The cost per visit is $75, but could be as low as $0 with insurance.

    "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 news release. "We hope this experience will help customers find the convenient help they want from the comfort of their own home."

    Roughly one-third of Americans aged 12 and older own a smart speaker, according to a report that market research company Edison Research, along with audio tech and advertising firm Triton Digital, released last year. Nearly one-quarter—24%—of smart speaker owners have an Amazon Alexa device, followed by 13% who own a Google Home device.

    Beyond connecting directly with consumers, smart speaker developers have been partnering with hospitals and health plans.

    Late last year, Amazon launched a program with applications that patients would use during a hospital stay, as part of Alexa Smart Properties, a division that sells Alexa devices to property owners. In 2020, Google teamed up with hospitals to deploy Google Nest devices to monitor critically ill patients with COVID-19.

    Teladoc did not disclose financial details of the arrangement with Amazon. The company doesn't discuss terms of its business deals, according to Boyer.

    Teladoc, which brought in $2 billion in revenue in 2021, also has a partnership with Microsoft, which involves bringing its telehealth services into the tech giant's Teams business communications platform for hospitals. Since 2020, Amwell, one of Teladoc's competitors, has worked with Google for cloud services—and to develop artificial-intelligence capabilities.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    doctor_patient_tablet_getty_i_i.jpg
    How AI may influence pain medication prescriptions
    Amir Dan Rubin
    Amazon's One Medical CEO to step down later this year
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing