Amazon hires superstar cardiologist, deepens dive into health care

E-commerce giant Amazon has hired a high-powered cardiologist to join its team, as the company pushes further into the health care space.

Dr. Maulik Majmudar, a practicing cardiologist, announced on Twitter Monday that he would be leaving his job to take on “an exciting [and] challenging role” with Amazon.

He is moving on from his position as associate director of the Healthcare Transformation Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he focused on improving the health care experience by integrating technology, according to LinkedIn.

Majmudar also co-founded a medical wearables startup and was a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Majmudar continued on to say that he accepted the opportunity in hopes of “making a truly meaningful impact on the health and wellbeing of hundreds of millions of individuals throughout the world.”

Amazon declined to comment.

While it is unclear exactly what Majmudar’s role within the company would be, it is clear Amazon is eyeing the health care sector as a prime new market for disruption.

The company acquired online pharmacy PillPack in June, and is looking to start selling medical supplies to hospitals.

Earlier this year Amazon announced a joint health care venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, aimed at improving transparency and reducing costs for the three companies’ employees. While details regarding the venture are scant, Harvard surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande was named CEO in June.

Experts have said Amazon has a big opening to break into health care, with the potential to leverage its 100 million-plus Prime subscribers onto any new services.