Since Amazon purchased Pill Pack in 2018 and obtained HIPAA compliance for its Alexa voice device in 2019, it’s no surprise that the online retail giant has now moved further into the healthcare space with the development of an Alexa skill that reminds people to take their medications. 
Amazon worked in collaboration with Omnicell to create the new Alexa skill which allows users to sync their prescription medication information and then receive reminders about taking the medication and getting refills. Privacy concerns have been addressed to protect user information.
At first, the feature will be available only to customers of Giant Eagle Pharmacy, but Amazon plans to launch with more pharmacies later this year if the initial rollout succeeds.
Rachel Jiang, head of Alexa Health and Wellness at Amazon, said, “Voice has proven to be beneficial for a variety of use cases because it removes barriers, and simplifies daily tasks. We believe this new Alexa feature will help simplify the way people manage their medication by removing the need to continuously think about what medications they’ve taken that day or what they need to take. We want to make it easy for people to get the information they need and to manage their healthcare needs at home while maintaining the privacy and security of their information, and hope this feature is a step toward that vision.”