If you live in Seattle, you’ve probably heard of Amazon. Heck, if you live period, you’ve probably heard of Amazon. Like millions of others, you may also interact on occasion with Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa.

Alexa often comes though an Amazon device called an Echo. The Echo sits in your home, and you can tell it to do things, such as set a timer, play a song, turn the volume up or down, and tell you what the weather is like outside.

You may also have heard that Amazon is dipping its rather large toe into the health care industry. Recently it announced a partnership with other corporations to revolutionize health care, including drug manufacturing. Now, it appears that Amazon may use Alexa to help it gain traction in the health care industry.

Now obviously, Alexa isn’t going to be performing surgery anytime soon (though it has been tested in operating rooms to help surgeons go through safety checklists prior to operating), nor is it likely to diagnose you with medical conditions. But it may be useful in managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes, or otherwise helping patients keep compliant on taking medications.

Further, for family members who are elderly, Alexa can be a way for someone to call for help in the event he or she is incapacitated from a fall.

You can read more about this development here:

[Why Alexa’s Next Big Move Is Into Health Care](https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/amazon-echo-integrating-health-and-wellness-into-alexas-future.html)