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http://dx.doi.org/10.17703/JCCT.2022.8.3.405

The Effect of Telemedicine Expansion on the Structural Change and the Competition Increase in the Health Care Industry and its Policy Implication- Focusing on the case of Amazon's foray on the health care industry  

Lee, Jaehee (Dept. of Health Care Management, Gachon University)
Publication Information
The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology / v.8, no.3, 2022 , pp. 405-413 More about this Journal
Abstract
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the active utilization of new health care service utilizing the ICT technology and data science such as telemedicine, smart hospital, AI dignosis has been increasingly found. In this study we examined the business model of Amazon healthcare which leads disruptive innovation in U.S. health care industry with the introduction of hybrid model of telemedicin, in-person care and customer-centric online drug delivery, home-use diagnostic kit, characterized by the integrated model combining medical care, drug delivery and the use of diagnostic kit. We showed using the multiproduct competition model that the synergy effect between the Amazon's original business areas and the healthcare business area causes the active market penetration and the increase in the customer value from utilization of the Amazon care. Using Hotelling's spatial competition model, we also showed that the competition in the health care market can be greater when consumer's choice of health care providers are available in telemedicine platform. In the long, run the issue of competition being weakened due to the exit of less competent healthcare providers may arise, to which the policymakers in the charge of fair competition in health care industry should pay attention.
Keywords
Amazon; Telemedicine; Predatory Pricing; Hotelling's Spatial Competition;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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