Amazon is eliminating the gap between doctor visits and prescription pickup with new Amazon Pharmacy kiosks that quickly dispense medications to patients after medical appointments.
The kiosks will initially be located inside One Medical offices, Amazon’s primary healthcare company, in the greater Los Angeles area starting December, with expansion to additional One Medical offices and other locations expected shortly after.
The freestanding kiosks aim to facilitate easier prescription filling, eliminating extra trips or waiting in conventional pharmacy lines.
According to Amazon, kiosks will stock commonly prescribed medications including antibiotics, inhalers, and blood pressure medications. Controlled substances and refrigeration-requiring medications are unavailable. Inventory is tailored to each office location’s prescribing patterns.
After providers write prescriptions, patients can choose Amazon Pharmacy for in-office kiosk pickup. In the Amazon app, patients receive a QR code to scan at the kiosk for medication pickup delivered within minutes with custom labels printed on-site.
The initiative includes human oversight, cameras inside kiosks allow Amazon pharmacists to review medications before dispensing via live view, and pharmacists can answer patient questions via video or phone consultation.
Providing customer pickup points departs from Amazon Pharmacy’s home delivery model. Hannah McClellan, vice president of operations for Amazon Pharmacy, stated that Amazon is prepared to scale kiosks beyond the L.A. rollout.
“We do have many more kiosks ready to go,” McClellan said. “I see One Medical as a launch pad for the kiosk, but I think they have runway far beyond One Medical, and frankly, far beyond primary care offices. There’s so many ways that they can drastically improve the pharmacy pickup experience today.”
The Seattle area has eight One Medical locations, and McClellan said Amazon’s hometown could be “high on the list” for kiosk placement.
The tamper-resistant kiosks weigh approximately 1,700 pounds and are secured to floors, with additional security features including vibration sensors and surveillance cameras discouraging break-ins. Amazon says patient information is protected according to HIPAA regulations and the entire system has undergone rigorous testing and regulatory review.
No additional fee exists for Prime and non-Prime members using kiosks. Patients pay only for prescription medications, and insurance is accepted as with traditional pharmacy options.
Amazon hopes convenience reduces the nearly one-third of U.S. prescriptions never filled annually, leading to better health outcomes and preventing billions in healthcare costs.
“This is not a watered-down version of a pharmacy,” McClellan said. “We have cut zero corners. Every single thing that’s available to you at a retail pharmacy pickup is available to you here. We really have just brought the pharmacy experience to your provider office, and made it incredibly fast and transparent.”
Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy in November 2020, following its $753 million PillPack acquisition in 2018. The company announced its $3.9 billion One Medical acquisition in July 2022 and closed the deal in February 2023. In February 2024, Amazon cut hundreds of jobs from both healthcare units.
