Amazon's plan to acquire primary care provider company One Medical could raise costs for all medical groups and further alter the dynamics of physician recruiting and acquisitions, Forbes reported.
Independent physicians should be prepared for "an entirely new dynamic" when it comes to prospective buyers, the report said. The new market will include unconventional buyers, such as larger retail companies, and there will be a bigger push toward consolidation as more buyers look to buy physician practices.
The deal, which would combine One Medical's technology and team with Amazon, will make acquiring physician practices much more expensive, according to the July 21 report.
The acquisition would come amid a sweeping primary care physician shortage and as retail outlets compete to recruit and acquire their practices. Both Walgreens and Walmart have opened hundreds of primary care clinics in the last two years, andCVS Health also seeks to add more physicians to its nurse practitioner clinic model.
With the Amazon deal, One Medical will have the financial backing to access the primary care market that includes the hospitals and health systems that are buying up physician practices, the report said.