Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

On a purely corporate level: Amazon’s business ethos seems in tension with the things I want from my PCP. I don’t want to be A/B tested for retention and mean time between visits in my doctor’s office.

On a more practical level: Amazon is gargantuan, and I don’t necessarily trust them to have the scoped vision necessary to run a good medical practice, rather than just a large one that fits their portfolio. This is true for any large company; Amazon is large even by large company standards.



> I don’t want to be A/B tested for retention and mean time between visits in my doctor’s office.

They'll have to be a bit careful with regulation here if they do try it. Clinical trials are where you do that sort of thing.


I'd agree but I think they'll view any penalties as the cost of doing business. If they can find a way to reduce costs or raise profits by more than the penalty amount then it they'll absolutely do it.


In certain regulatory environments it won't be a penalty. It'll be a recall and shutdown.


The US has largely not shown the level of anti-trust zeal that it needs to, even among party democrats. I have no faith they will stop or shut down a company violating things.


This isn't to do with antitrust.


Clinical trials are needed for medical interventions. But can't they A/B test e.g. communications or in-app experiences that try to get you to come in for insurance-covered stuff? This doesn't need to be evil -- maybe they search for messaging which gets more people in the door for vaccine boosters or regular physicals. Maybe after scheduling a kid's checkup, the app nags you to schedule your own, etc.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: