Leaked documents revealed last month that a call center for Amazon’s (AMZN) One Medical primary care clinic failed to encourage patients to seek immediate medical attention after they disclosed urgent symptoms.
The incidents involved elderly patients who called in about symptoms such as stomach pain, an increase in blood pressure, blood in stool, chest pain/tightness, etc.
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After Amazon allegedly admitted that two of the cases should have been immediately escalated, and that it couldn’t find the records of six of the incidents, it has now trained call center workers to tell concerned callers who ask about the report that the patients “received the care they needed” in all instances, according to a new report from the Washington Post.
Workers are being told to say that an internal safety team looked into the incidents, and that the Post’s report last month about the errors at the clinic “mischaracterizes” the company.
“Thank you for reaching out,” workers were allegedly told to say. “The recent article that you are referencing mischaracterizes the dedication we have to our patients, and we are sorry for any concern that it has caused.”
In a statement to the Post in its report, an Amazon spokesperson said that the calls involving patients that weren't pushed to seek immediate medical care could have been "managed more effectively," and that it still could not locate records of six of the calls.
The controversy comes after Amazon announced plans a few months ago to expand its fleet of One Medical clinics by adding new locations in New Jersey and Milwaukee by the end of 2024. Amid this expansion, Amazon also laid off hundreds of One Medical employees in February as it closed several corporate offices in multiple states.
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Amazon’s plans to expand One Medical comes at a time when Americans are opting to go to care centers instead of primary care providers to receive medical care. According to a recent survey from Registered Nursing, 73% of Americans say that they receive “the same or better care” at convenient care clinics than at a doctor’s office.
Survey respondents listed immediate availability, faster service and convenient locations as top reasons why they go to convenient care centers instead of primary care facilities. The poll also found that 1 in 4 Americans don’t have a primary care doctor, and that 79% said that they trust advice from a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant the same way they would a primary care doctor.
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