Can Technology Really Make Health Care Better?

I woke up one recent morning to the most amazing news: Amazon had bought One Medical Group, my primary care practice. I first discovered One Medical when my daughter, who lived in San Francisco, told me about this absolutely fantastic new primary care practice where if you just paid an annual $150 membership fee you got 24/7 access to medical treatment, including telemedicine, emailing your doctor, and Zoom visits — a lot of things that are commonplace now but weren’t in 2007 when One Medical was founded. Since health is my “hobby,” I petitioned its web site till One Medical Group came to Arizona, which took several years. When it did, I immediately joined.

One Medical Group spoiled me for primary care. They had committed staff who were mission-driven to change the health care delivery environment. They had appointments that began on time. Their doctors emailed. They gave you access to your information. They were all about convenience and customer service.

What an incredibly different experience.

Here’s the thing you know about me, if you read this. I always try out tech startups, and One Medical seemed to me just another startup that I could try. Technology made the difference.

I also tried another startup, PillPack, a mail-order pharmacy that sends you medication in little packets marked with the time you are supposed to take each pill and delivers monthly to your home. Founded in 2013, PillPack’s convenience model was an innovation at the time that has…