Vital Signs with Jacob Effron and Nikhil Krishnan Ep 60: General Medicine's Elliot Cohen on Lessons from PillPack and Amazon and The Future of AI x Healthcare
Jul 31, 2025
Elliot Cohen, co-founder of General Medicine and PillPack, dives into the future of healthcare and consumer empowerment. He emphasizes the need for a broad front door to care in 2025 and discusses the challenges faced with pricing transparency. Elliot shares his insights on the PillPack vs. PBMs saga and reflects on lessons learned from building Amazon Pharmacy. He also explores the transformative role of AI in healthcare workflows, highlighting opportunities and hurdles in integrating technology with patient care.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Best Care Is Contextual
- "Best care" balances price, selection, quality and convenience depending on the patient's need.
- Elliot emphasizes matching the right definition of quality to each clinical situation.
PillPack's PBM Fight Shaped The Business
- PillPack faced existential PBM constraints around home delivery that surprised the founders.
- Elliot says the regulatory and contractual landscape shifted after Amazon and CVS moved into mail delivery.
FixedPharmacy Public Campaign
- PillPack launched fixedpharmacy.com to publicly pressure Express Scripts and mobilize customers.
- Customer quotes responding emotionally helped sway public attention and escalate the dispute.
