The healthcare industry is an extremely lucrative one, which is why many tech companies are venturing into it, Amazon included where according to a report from last year, the company has a “secret” health team that is looking to develop health-related products. Now according to a report from CNBC, Amazon is furthering their efforts with a new hire.
The report claims that Taha Kass-Hout has been hired by Amazon to join its health team. For those unfamiliar, Kass-Hout was the former US FDA’s chief health informatics officer. Based on Kass-Hout’s previous work experience and interests, it has been speculated that his role at Amazon could be to help develop a product that will give customers easier access to their medical records.
This in turn would allow users to better understand their health and also be able to quickly pull up information and show it to healthcare providers who can get a quicker and more accurate assessment of their patients at a glance. Given his role at the FDA, he probably can also help Amazon navigate potential regulatory hurdles that might come up should the company decide to launch a healthcare product.
That being said, it is unclear as to what exactly Amazon could be working on right now or when it might debut, but Kass-Hout’s addition to the team does indicate that the company could be ramping up their efforts.