Amazon Business Sets its Sights on Healthcare, Dentists

Stocks for companies that distribute medical supplies tumbled recently after Morgan Stanley warned dental investors that “Amazon is here,” and The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon has been holding meetings with hospital executives to learn more about the needs of the industry.

Amazon has been growing its medical supply business—selling gloves, syringes and other health care sundries to dentists, doctors and hospitals—and a company executive also recently mentioned hospitals first on a laundry list of institutions that it’s targeting with its Amazon Business offering.

In a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, Brian Tanquilut, an Equity Analyst at the investment firm Jefferies, notes that Amazon has been particularly aggressive in courting dentists, even setting up booths at dental conferences. “Amazon sees healthcare as a very...