Amazon Reportedly Tests Using Delivery Drivers for Emergency Response

Amazon has reportedly experimented with using its delivery drivers as emergency responders.

The tech giant outfitted delivery vans in Europe with defibrillators to see whether those drivers could provide faster aid to heart attack victims, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (April 10), citing company documents.

According to the report, Amazon piloted the program, known as Project Pulse, in Amsterdam in 2023 before expanding it to London and the Italian city of Bologna.

The company confirmed that more than 100 drivers took part in the experiment, in which they would get alerts from citizen responder apps and arrive on site, where emergency services were already at work on the victims.

The drivers had been trained to use automatic defibrillator devices as part of a first aid course. They also enrolled in local citizen responder networks which alerted them to suspected cases of cardiac arrest nearby.

The experiment lasted several months, and Amazon is “evaluating the feedback and exploring additional opportunities for future programs,” said company spokesperson Anneliese Hellwig-Schuster.

The most immediate goal of the program, the company documents said, was to give everyone — Amazon customer or not — a better chance of surviving a heart attack, as Amazon vans are typically closer than professional first responders in many residential communities.

However, the company also recognized a PR benefit to the program, as Amazon’s drivers have been blamed for congestion, pollution and traffic accidents.

The effort is happening at a time when Amazon is using its consumer base and technological reach to become a key competitor to chief rival Walmart in the healthcare space, as PYMNTS wrote earlier this year.

“With strategic partnerships, including those with Teladoc and mental health providers, Amazon is expanding its healthcare offerings such as virtual care and chronic condition management,” that report said. “By integrating these services into its larger ecosystem, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its Health Benefits Connector, Amazon seeks to redefine healthcare access and challenge Walmart’s established position in the industry.”

Meanwhile, AWS partnered with General Catalyst to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-driven healthcare solutions, centered around personalized care, diagnostics and improving patient outcomes to allow for more accessible healthcare.

“Amazon’s 2018 acquisition of PillPack marked its strategic move into disrupting traditional pharmacy services by offering personalized, tech-enabled care,” PYMNTS added. “The company has since launched Amazon Care and Amazon Pharmacy, positioning itself to integrate healthcare services into its retail and technology infrastructure.”