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in collaboration with
Dr. Yves Dour (Doctor in Pharmacy)
Medical validation:
February 01, 2023
Amazon strikes again. The American platform now offers its subscribers to have drugs delivered in unlimited quantities. A dangerous service, according to Dr. Yves Dour, doctor of pharmacy.
After unlimited films, series and music, it’s time for drugs. Since Tuesday, the American giant Amazon has offered its Prime subscribers a subscription which allows, for only $ 5 per month, to obtain generic drugs on prescription and at no additional cost.
Medicines “that treat more than 80 common ailments”
This new health service, called RxPass, allows Americans to have unlimited medication delivered at a very low cost (5 dollars per month) “that treat over 80 common conditions“, clarified Amazon.
A lucrative business, since nearly 150 million Americans occasionally or regularly take this type of drug, according to the firm’s estimates.
The big advantage of RxPass? It only requires a prescription. Exit mutuals and public coverage.
If Amazon is delighted with this additional service, the group does not intend to stop there and wishes to continue its diversification in the health sector.
Earlier this year, the American firm announced that it had acquired the private healthcare network “One Medical”, for the modest sum of 3.9 billion dollars.
A way for Amazon to develop new telemedicine and medical appointment booking services.
“We see many opportunities, both to improve the quality of experience and to give people back valuable time in their days.“said Neil Lindsay, Amazon’s vice president of health services.
“It’s a drift from a health point of view”
Faced with this new health subscription, Dr. Yves Dour is very critical.
“With this type of subscription, we face the same types of drift as those we will encounter in France. Namely: the patient will have access to medication thanks to a long-term prescription (6 months), without having seen a doctor and without there being continuous monitoring of his condition. The problem is that in the United States, there is really no control. The responsibility for this management will be transferred to Amazon, which will not carry out adequate vital checks to maintain the state of health of patients.“, warns the doctor in pharmacist.
Another possible deviation: “people who have access to this subscription can easily set up drug trafficking.”
And for good reason : “Already in France, many molecules are trafficked. It will be the same across the Atlantic“, concludes the pharmacist.