Amazon continues to turn up the heat in health care. Just four months after it agreed to acquire One Medical, a technology-powered primary care provider, the company has launched Amazon Clinic, a message-based service that links patients seeking treatment for 20 routine health problems with virtual care options.

Now available in 32 states, the new service connects people with licensed providers through third-party telehealth companies, which Amazon says have been subjected to rigorous scrutiny for the quality of the clinical care and customer experience they provide. The goal is to give patients an easily accessible avenue for obtaining affordable care. The company sees Amazon Clinic as a means of equipping individuals to take more control of their health, deciding which care option is right for them in a particular circumstance. When using the service, patients begin by identifying their condition — everything from acne, dandruff and cold sores to acid reflex, eczema and urinary tract infections — then choosing among a range of telehealth providers. After filling in a questionnaire, patients connect with clinicians via a message-based portal. When the consultation is finished, a treatment plan, including prescriptions, is sent to the patient via the portal. The cost of consultations varies by provider, and at this point Amazon Clinic does not accept any insurance plans.

If it lives up to its billing, Amazon Clinic promises to be a viable competitor for urgent care facilities, which in recent years have emerged as the first place many people turn for treatment of minor ailments. Amazon would be quick to acknowledge, however, that such platforms are just one building block in any paradigm that stands a chance of alleviating the chronic problems of accessibility, quality and high cost that plague the U.S. health care system.

Amazon entered health care at a relatively small scale, paying $753 million for online pharmacy PillPack in 2018. Expanding on that foundation, two years later it launched a full-service, Web-based pharmacy under its own name. Other health care ventures, including Haven, a high-profile collaboration with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, have come and gone, but the company seems to have hit the mark with One Medical, whose digital and virtual care offerings are complemented by 180 brick-and-mortar clinics in 25 cities. With care delivered by physicians, One Medical also assists more than 8,000 companies in supporting the health and well-being of their employees.

It is clear that Amazon is intent on disrupting health care, the same way it has transformed so many other aspects of daily life. Developments over the past five-plus years demonstrate the company’s sustained interest in the $4 trillion-a-year sector and its willingness to embrace new ideas, put them to the test and, if they’re not right, move on to another approach. With its enviable record of bringing digital technology to bear to shake up established ways of doing things, Amazon has grounds for confidence. But health care is a complex business, with entrenched interests, misaligned financial incentives and extensive regulatory requirements making success far from certain.

The other major challenge that any health care provider faces is the hypercompetitive nature of the industry. As the consumerization of health and wellness continues to gather momentum, traditional players and newcomers alike are striving to develop ecosystems of their own. CVS Health, Kroger, Walmart and Walgreens Boots Alliance, among others, are finding new ways to leverage existing assets, augmenting their resources through partnerships and acquisitions, and fine-tuning health care delivery models as they look for the right combination of cutting-edge digital tools and the one-on-one interaction between provider and patient.

The competition to reengineer the health care system may result in more than one viable strategy, with Amazon and other technology-based companies emphasizing systems and automation, and entities with roots in pharmacy prioritizing the human touch. Whoever the ultimate winners turn out to be, one thing is certain: They will have started the process of constructing a better model with the end user in mind and worked backwards.

All of the companies mentioned above have risen to prominence by being customer-centric. That orientation is a prerequisite for Amazon or anyone else who aims to straighten out our tortuous health care paradigm.