Amazon Alexa reminds patients when to take medicine, request prescription refills

Amazon has partnered with Giant Eagle, a grocery chain with more than 200 locations throughout the United States, to help patients take their medications in a more timely manner. Through the collaboration, Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant technology can remind users when to take medication and when they may need to get a prescription filled.

CNBC reported on this partnership, noting that Giant Eagle is not working with any of Amazon’s competitors in the voice assistant marketplace. Amazon, however, is working on medication management with at least one other major company.

Rachel Jiang, who manages the Amazon Alexa health and wellness team, told CNBC the company knew some users may have concerns about the security of their data.

“There’s definitely a friction in terms of finding a way for consumers to have access to the experience and balancing that out with privacy and security of the data,” Jiang said. “In this initial launch, we add some additional friction to be firmly in a position to properly protect their privacy.”

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Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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