In the latest indication that the Seattle-based online retail giant is considering entering the health care space, Amazon.com Inc. is looking for a professional experienced with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to work on health care-related compliance matters, according to a recent job listing.
The HIPAA compliance lead will "own and operate" the security and compliance elements of a "new initiative," according to the post. In addition, the employee's core responsibilities will include monitoring relevant federal and state regulations and modifying the compliance program, which the employee will create and manage, to accommodate any changes. He or she will also be expected to serve as a "consultative resource" for health care regulatory matters.
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Applicants are not required to have a law degree—just a bachelor's degree—and at least five years of HIPAA experience in an enterprise setting. The desired applicant, according to the post, will have experience with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the 510(K) process. "510(K)" is used to refer to a "premarket notification," the first step to getting a medical device approved by the FDA.
An Amazon representative did not respond to an online request for comment about the position on Friday.
It was reported last year that Amazon is looking to enter the multibillion-dollar prescription drug market. Other recent health care-related news about Amazon, reported by CNBC, includes: its creation of a health tech-focused lab called 1492; an event promoting the use of Alexa, Amazon's non-HIPAA-compliant cloud-based voice service, in hospitals; and its hiring of a health policy expert, Missy Krasner, who helped build cloud storage company Box's health product.
Amazon is the latest tech giant, after Apple and Alphabet, to enter the health care space. But it likely is not the last: Uber Technologies Inc. recently hired a veteran lobbyist in Washington, D.C., to pursue the ride-hailing company's agenda on policies related to health care and medical-records privacy.
In an interview with Corporate Counsel last summer, David Zapolsky, Amazon's senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, said the company's legal department includes more than 400 lawyers with offices in 15 different countries, but he did not specify how many, if any, of those attorneys work solely on compliance matters, HIPAA-related or otherwise.
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Kristen Rasmussen
Kristen Rasmussen is an Atlanta-based reporter who covers corporate law departments and in-house attorneys.
