Aug. 23, 2018
Dive Brief:
- Amazon has hired a renowned cardiologist as it
continues to explore avenues in healthcare, CNBC reports.
- Maulik Majmudar, a practicing cardiologist and
associate director of the Healthcare Transformation Lab at Massachusetts
General Hospital, announced on his Twitter account that
he will "leave academia to take on an exciting & challenging role
@amazon."
- Neither Majmudar nor Amazon has disclosed what his role with the
tech giant will be, but the company has several teams working on
health-related projects.
Dive Insight:
Amazon has been broadening its involvement
in healthcare and building up its healthcare group with people knowledgeable
about both the medical and regulatory challenges in the space.
According to new Reaction Data report,
Amazon is the company turning heads in hospital C-suites. Three-fourths of CEOs
surveyed said the company will be the biggest disrupter in healthcare in coming
years, pointing to strengths ranging from innovation and predictive analytics
to patient engagement and streamlined distribution.
Amazon's decision to hire a cardiologist
could point to a greater role in population health management and development
of products that can monitor chronic conditions like high blood pressure or
irregular heartbeats. It could also point to more investment in the area of
employee health.
Earlier this year, Amazon hired Martin Levine, a
physician who previously ran Iora Health's Seattle Clinics. A geriatrician,
Levine has experience treating older patients with complex medical problems.
The company was also reportedly looking for a "HIPAA compliant lead," possibly
for regulatory issues related to storage and use of personal health
information.
In May, CNBC reported that Amazon had launched a health and wellness team within
its Alexa voice-assistant department. The team is focused on boosting Alexa's
health-related functions, such as chronic disease management and navigating
HIPAA requirements.
The company also recently announced a
definitive agreement to acquire online pharmacy PillPack for
an undisclosed sum. PillPack specializes in delivering individualized rolls of
presorted drugs to people juggling multiple daily medications.
The e-commerce pioneer, along with
Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan, is also forming a new business to
address the healthcare needs of their U.S. employees. Few details are known
about the independent, nonprofit company, but the partners recently named New Yorker staff writer and Harvard
Medical School surgery professor Atul Gawande to serve as its
CEO.
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