Amazon is ending support for third-party HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills
Amazon is ending support for a program that allowed patients to share HIPAA-protected health information with healthcare organizations through Alexa. The news was first reported by Voicebot.ai.
The invite-only program, which first launched in 2019, allowed select developers to create and launch HIPAA-compliant health skills for Alexa (skills are the third-party voice apps that run on Alexa devices). The skills unleashed through the program allowed consumers to request help from the virtual assistant with things like scheduling appointments, accessing post-hospital discharge instructions, checking the status of a prescription delivery and more.
Amazon launched the program with six healthcare organizations, including Boston Children's Hospital, Livongo, Swedish Health Connect, Cigna Health Today, Atrium Health and Express Scripts. As of last week, only three of those organizations had active apps on the Alexa Skills store, according to Voicebot.ai.
"We regularly review our experiences to make sure we're investing in services that will delight customers," an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email. "We continue to invest heavily in developing healthcare experiences with first-party and third-party developers, including Alexa Smart Properties for Healthcare."
The Alexa Smart Properties for Healthcare unit aims to enable hospitals and healthcare providers to care for their patients in a simple and cost-effective way. Last year, Amazon rolled out new solutions for healthcare providers and retirement homes as part of Alexa Smart Properties. The solutions have been designed to meet the needs of large-scale Alexa device deployments and will allow facility administrators to create personalized experiences for their residents or patients.
Amazon's decision to end support for the HIPAA-protected Alexa tool comes as Business Insider recently reported that the company is set to lose $10 billion this year due to from Alexa and other devices. Additionally, Amazon's Alexa team was reportedly the hardest hit by layoffs at the company. Prior to the formal announcement of the layoffs, reports indicated that Amazon management was closely evaluating its Alexa business.
This all-new development is the latest twist in Amazon's push into healthcare, as the company has made plenty of headlines this year in relation to its healthcare initiatives.
In August, the company shut down Amazon Care, which was a telehealth-focused, employer-focused virtual primary care company. The service first launched in 2019 as a pilot program in Seattle, and it's unclear how much traction it had gained before it was discontinued.
Last month, the company launched Amazon Clinic, which Amazon describes as a virtual health "showcase." With Amazon Clinic, users can search, connect, and pay for telehealth care, treating a variety of conditions that are among the most popular for telehealth consultations today. Amazon Clinic was initially launched in 32 states in the United States.
Amazon is ending support for a program that allowed patients to share HIPAA-protected health information with healthcare organizations through Alexa. The news was first reported by Voicebot.ai.
The invite-only program, which first launched in 2019, allowed select developers to create and launch HIPAA-compliant health skills for Alexa (skills are the third-party voice apps that run on Alexa devices). The skills unleashed through the program allowed consumers to request help from the virtual assistant with things like scheduling appointments, accessing post-hospital discharge instructions, checking the status of a prescription delivery and more.
Amazon launched the program with six healthcare organizations, including Boston Children's Hospital, Livongo, Swedish Health Connect, Cigna Health Today, Atrium Health and Express Scripts. As of last week, only three of those organizations had active apps on the Alexa Skills store, according to Voicebot.ai.
"We regularly review our experiences to make sure we're investing in services that will delight customers," an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email. "We continue to invest heavily in developing healthcare experiences with first-party and third-party developers, including Alexa Smart Properties for Healthcare."
The Alexa Smart Properties for Healthcare unit aims to enable hospitals and healthcare providers to care for their patients in a simple and cost-effective way. Last year, Amazon rolled out new solutions for healthcare providers and retirement homes as part of Alexa Smart Properties. The solutions have been designed to meet the needs of large-scale Alexa device deployments and will allow facility administrators to create personalized experiences for their residents or patients.
Amazon's decision to end support for the HIPAA-protected Alexa tool comes as Business Insider recently reported that the company is set to lose $10 billion this year due to from Alexa and other devices. Additionally, Amazon's Alexa team was reportedly the hardest hit by layoffs at the company. Prior to the formal announcement of the layoffs, reports indicated that Amazon management was closely evaluating its Alexa business.
This all-new development is the latest twist in Amazon's push into healthcare, as the company has made plenty of headlines this year in relation to its healthcare initiatives.
In August, the company shut down Amazon Care, which was a telehealth-focused, employer-focused virtual primary care company. The service first launched in 2019 as a pilot program in Seattle, and it's unclear how much traction it had gained before it was discontinued.
Last month, the company launched Amazon Clinic, which Amazon describes as a virtual health "showcase." With Amazon Clinic, users can search, connect, and pay for telehealth care, treating a variety of conditions that are among the most popular for telehealth consultations today. Amazon Clinic was initially launched in 32 states in the United States.
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