Designing for Moments That Matter: What Amazon One Medical Teaches Us About Human-Centered Design

In today’s hyperconnected world, businesses face a paradox: while digital tools have made everything faster, customers still crave meaningful human connection. That’s where Amazon One Medical stands out.

Amazon One Medical has designed a care model that reimagines the healthcare journey and serves as a blueprint for how all organizations can rethink customer relationships. The magic lies in understanding that experiences are immersive and relational. When handled well, they are a series of moments that drive trust, retention, and referrals.

At Amazon One Medical, these moments go far beyond the time spent with a clinician. Seamless tech, highly trained team members, and customer-focused systems are positioned to ensure patients feel cared for before they engage care and long after a treatment interaction ends.

Amazon One Medical leaders offer care, but more accurately, they design it intentionally and proactively to align with the lives of their members.

So, what can leaders learn from Amazon One Medical’s approach to experience design?

🔹 Focus on Transitions, Not Just Touchpoints: Many companies over-index on the transactional moments—checkout, service calls, or visits—and underinvest in the lead-up and follow-through. Amazon One Medical flips that script. They ensure members receive guidance before the visit and proactive follow-up after it ends. You can apply this thinking by asking: What happens in the margins of our service? How can we turn transitions into trust-building opportunities?

🔹 Invest in Pre-Visit Clarity and Post-Visit Confidence: Amazon One Medical equips patients with information about their care before they arrive and leaves them with a clear path post-visit. The same principle applies across industries. Eliminate guesswork, close loops, and ensure customers leave more informed, empowered, and confident.

🔹 Bridge Digital with Human: One Medical’s app is a personal health companion, designed to make it easy for patients to access care, communicate with providers, and manage health on their terms. Yet, when a human is needed, one is ready and available. That balance—making digital experiences feel human and letting humans shine when needed—is a lesson for every business leader.

🔹 Reduce Friction: Service failures often happen between teams, during handoffs, or across channels. Amazon One Medical obsesses over those transitions and delivery platforms, ensuring that internal coordination doesn’t become the customer’s burden. What are the “handoffs” in your business? Where do you ask customers to work to bridge the gap? Map those pain points and solve for them.

🔹 Design for Continuity: One Medical fosters ongoing relationships. Their members stay with them for a continuum of care. Similarly, your brand should be positioned as a long-term partner. Are you calculating and designing to enhance lifetime value?

Why This Matters

Customers judge brands based on how well they support the customer over time. Amazon One Medical wins loyalty because they understand that the best service brands aren’t reactive—they’re anticipatory.

Loyalty deepens when businesses create natural experiences, reduce friction, and build trust throughout the journey. Customers remember how you consistently make them feel, and they reward that reliability with their referrals.

Make Your Service Personal

One Medical isn’t just a healthcare brand. It’s a service model that any business can learn from. Their value proposition attracted Amazon, which resulted in a $4 billion acquisition—not bad for a small Medtech start-up.

If you want to build lifelong relationships with your customers and create value for all stakeholders, take inspiration from their thoughtful approach to journey design.

📘 These lessons are just a preview of what you’ll find in my new book, All Business Is Personal. If you’re ready to deliver loyalty-building experiences that blend technology with humanity…

➡️ Order your copy of All Business Is Personal NOW!

Let’s ensure YOUR business is PERSONAL.

All Business is Personal is available here!

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Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D. is a professional speaker and chief experience officer at The Michelli Experience. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, Dr. Michelli and his team consult with some of the world’s best customer experience companies.

Follow on Twitter: @josephmichelli

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