Amazon has announced it is entering the healthcare sector with the launch of a virtual health clinic app.

The Amazon Care app pilot project will offer the company’s employees in Seattle access to in-app video consultations with physicians or nurse practitioners for instant diagnosis or referral to a specialist.

Should the patient requires consultation that cannot be performed virtually, a home visit or appointment can be booked through the Amazon Care app.

The move is widely perceived as the first stage in Amazon’s ambitions to disrupt the $3.5 trillion healthcare sector.

The app, which will also be available to family members of eligible employees, will also enable healthcare professionals to prescribe medications which can be delivered via a ‘Care courier’ to their homes or collected from pharmacies.

A website announcing the in-work benefit scheme said the app would function as a ‘first stop for healthcare’ with diagnosis of urgent issues like colds, allergies, infections and minor injuries.

The in-home visit service also involves preventative health consultations, vaccines and lab work along with sexual health services like contraception and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing.

An animation on the site features a direct messaging chat connecting the healthcare practitioner with the patient as they discuss their symptoms.

Commenting on the pilot, an Amazon Spokesperson said: “We’re currently piloting a healthcare benefit designed to help Amazon employees get fast access to healthcare without an appointment, at the convenience of their schedules, at their preferred location (home, office, or virtual).

They added: “Amazon Care eliminates travel and wait time, connecting employees and their family members to a physician or nurse practitioner through live chat or video, with the option for in-person follow up services from a registered nurse ranging from immunizations to instant strep throat detection.”

In a sign of its ambition to break into the healthcare space, the e-commerce giant last year launched the Haven joint venture with JPMorgan Chase and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway aimed at offering affordable healthcare in the US. The company also bought PillPack, an online pharmacy company for $753 million in June last year.

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