On today's episode, we discuss how wearable tech devices will shake up healthcare, which features will make health wearables a must-have, and how Amazon and Apple will continue to disrupt the industry. "In Other News," we talk about why digital pharmacies are getting in trouble and what we should make of telehealth companies slowing down. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Lisa Phillips and Rajiv Leventhal.

Amazon is maneuvering to become a dominant player in direct-to-consumer healthcare services, beginning with its online pharmacy and telehealth services for its employees. It may acquire more healthcare delivery outlets, such as primary care and urgent care clinics. Entrenched industry players are watching carefully.

What’s next for digital pharmacies? There are many other digital pharmacy players with similar offerings to NowRx. To go one step deeper, they’ll need to hone features within their digital pharmacy platforms (like electronic prior authorizations) to better connect their digital pharmacy and virtual care businesses.

On today's episode, we discuss what technology physicians use in their personal and professional lives, how it might help with an expected physician shortage, and the share of Americans getting their medical advice from social media. "In Other News," we talk about a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into pharmacy benefit managers over rising drug costs and what to make of CVS Health's new virtual care solution. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Lisa Phillips and Rajiv Leventhal.

Amazon Pharmacy. Maturity, Iteration, and Market Sizing. Amazon joined the pharmacy business relatively recently, with the November 2020 launch of Amazon Pharmacy. But that much-anticipated move came more than two years after the company’s June 2018 acquisition of PillPack, an online pharmacy startup targeted to patients with complex, chronic health conditions.

Wellness company Noom, primary care startup Carbon Health, mental health startup Cerebral, and digital pharmacy startup Truepill have all slashed a big chunk of their workforce over the past few months. Truepill reached a $1.6 billion valuation last year—but last month, it still laid off 15% of its workforce to adapt to “shifting markets.”.

Digital pharmacies like Capsule and Medly are only making meds more accessible in larger cities—but in order to keep up with Amazon, they’ll have to expand their footprints.

For example, Hims & Hers shifted its digital pharmacy operations in-house (away from its Truepill partnership), acquired virtual dermatology startup Apostrophe, and expanded its digital mental health offerings to include individual online therapy. Carbon Health gives Hims & Hers access to in-person primary care, which fuels its multichannel healthcare delivery strategy.

More Rx delivery companies are sidestepping insurance with low-cost meds: Sesame Care colaunched an online pharmacy that offers transparently priced and affordable ($5) prescriptions—but it’s not the only Rx delivery player doing this, and it’ll become even more commonplace as the federal gov’t turns up the pressure on pricing transparency rules.

Unlike other digital pharmacies, Mark Cuban’s new direct-to-consumer online pharmacy MCCPDC posts exactly how much customers are paying for their discounted drugs, including a breakdown of manufacturing, markup, and pharmacy labor costs. What’s next? While Biden’s calls to cap insulin costs could boost medication adherence and cut overall costs, there’s no guarantee Congress will pass his agenda.

Walmart is bundling low-cost prescription ordering with its Walmart+ services, going toe-to-toe with Amazon’s PillPack—here’s what it means for digital pharmacy entrants like Truepill.

Truepill trickles into virtual care: The digital pharmacy is diving into primary care and diagnostics, similar to Capsule—a move that’ll cushion them from giants like Amazon encroaching on their corners of the digital health landscape.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the we-used-to-share-things economy, Amazon's new online pharmacy, Twitter keeping some election tactics, the sudden surge in disappearing messages, the share of Facebook content that's political, why movie previews are called "trailers," and more.

On top of care, last year, it launched its low-cost online pharmacy, where it’s offering around 200+ FDA approved generic medications for $5, free delivery across the US—no insurance required. Why it could succeed: By targeting small and medium-sized employers, Sesame’s hitting a market segment that’s sometimes overlooked by larger employer-sponsored health plans.