In a quiet transformation from merchandising giant to (also) healthcare giant, Amazon may be positioning its sprawling logistics network and growing medical footprint to potentially save lives, starting with your front door.
According to Bloomberg, back in 2023, Amazon piloted a several months-long pilot program called Project Pulse, equipping delivery vans with defibrillators and training drivers in CPR. In cities like London, Amsterdam, and Bologna, more than 100 drivers participated, with several of them receiving alerts from citizen responder apps and arriving on site. (Rescue services were reportedly already treating the victims.)
The company hasn’t moved forward but it is “evaluating the feedback and exploring additional opportunities for future programs,” an Amazon spokesperson tells Bloomberg.
It’d likely a public relations win for the company. It would also be a way to expand Amazon’s healthcare ambitions beyond One Medical, the primary care provider for which it shelled out $3.9 billion in early 2023.
With rivals like Walgreens and Walmart retreating from primary care — Walmart shuttered its primary healthcare business in April of last year, closing 51 locations, and Walgreens is being taken private again by Sycamore Partners for just $10 billion — Amazon could be feeling increasingly confident it can do what the others couldn’t: reshape healthcare delivery and bring more than just packages to customers’ doorsteps.