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Blockchain Beyond Finance: a look at the implementation of technology in the healthcare sector
Blockchain technology can bring a number of benefits to the healthcare industry, such as better health data management, monitoring and verification of the authenticity of medicines and more.
According to the results of a survey conducted by PwC, published in September 2018, 49% of global healthcare companies are developing blockchain solutions. However, 47% of companies said that lack of trust is a barrier to blockchain implementation and 39% of companies say that regulatory uncertainty is holding back the blockchain.
"Blockchain-based technologies offer significant opportunities to reinvent the way healthcare organizations access, collect, distribute, share, exploit, monitor, and control data-not all companies will benefit from it-companies that are slow to change might losing people who use technology to cut costs and increase efficiency, "PwC said.
"Companies should be prepared to identify where blockchain could improve their operations and interactions with trusted partners."
The consulting giant Deloitte believes that the technology could provide a new model for health information exchange (HIE) making electronic medical records more efficient, disintermediate and secure. In his white paper, he said:
"Blockchain-based health information exchange could unlock the true value of interoperability Blockchain-based systems have the potential to reduce or eliminate the friction and costs of current intermediaries."
Here are some of the blockchain initiatives supported by governments around the world:
United States Department of Health and Human Services
In July 2016, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requested the presentation of articles on the topic of blockchain technology and its potential uses in the health sector. The initiative aimed to investigate the relationship between blockchain technology and its use in Health IT and / or health-related research.
Illinois Blockchain Initiative and Hashed Health
In August 2017, the Illinois Blockchain Initiative, a blockchain consortium of Illinois state and county agencies, collaborated with the health innovation company Hashed Health to leverage distributed blockchain and ledger technologies. At the time they said that the pilot program will initially focus on exploring how to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the process of medical credentials in the state. Leveraging a blockchain-based registry, the project aimed to simplify data sharing on medical credentials and smart contracts to automate the workflow related to multi-state and inter-state licensure.
Changzhou, China
In August 2017, the Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, the online health service of Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd., joined forces with the Changzhou government to pilot blockchain solutions for health care, reports Yicai Global. The main objective was to address the existing issues in the health sector in an economic and safe manner. In particular, the collaboration sought to solve information silos and data security problems currently faced by medical institutions.
Russian Ministry of Health
In August 2017, the Russian Ministry of Health collaborated with Vnesheconombank to work and provide pilot projects using blockchain technology. Vnesheconombank president Sergey Gorkov and Russian health minister Veronika Skvortsova met to discuss the application of blockchain technology in the public health system.
Global Blockchain Council (GBC)
In May 2016, the Global Blockchain Council (GBC), a public-private initiative supported by Smart Dubai Office and Dubai Smart Government, extended its support to the telecommunications company's pilot aimed at introducing a safer common system for the sharing and instant verification of electronic medical records (EHR) between hospitals and clinics using blockchain technology. In January 2017, du announced its partnership with NMC Hospital to revolutionize EHR with blockchain technology for 100% data security.
Private sector initiatives:
- In October 2015, Philips Healthcare confirmed that it was exploring potential applications for blockchain technology, said CoinDesk. The company's interest was revealed for the first time in a tweet by Wayne Vaughan, CEO of Tierion, a leading company in the creation of blockchain, which promoted the service as a "first project" with the health care company .
- In January 2016, the UBS financial services company donated the code for a blockchain-based trading platform to the HEAL Alliance, reported CoinDesk. The HIV Eradication Alliance (HEAL Alliance) is a nonprofit group focused on supporting HIV research. He planned to use the UBS code as part of a platform that had been developed by Finclusion Systems, the London financial startup.
- In March 2016, Guardtime, the platform that guarantees data and systems integrity on an industrial scale, announced a partnership with the Estonian eHealth Foundation to accelerate blockchain-based security, transparency, review and governance for management of the life cycle of patient records.
- In October 2016, Hashed Health announced a major partnership with Martin Ventures, an investment initiative in the health and technology sector, to promote blockchain solutions that address regulatory regimes and health care issues.
- In November 2016, Factom, a blockchain company based in Austin, received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure permanent, readily available and reliable medical records using blockchain technology.
- In June 2017, the Taiwanese startup Bitmark announced that it will fund fellow UC Berkeley School of Public Health scholars to conduct studies using its blockchain technology. The startup collaborated with UC Berkeley to allow people to donate their personal data to improve public health.
- In August 2017, the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD), an organization that has more than 1,600 doctors throughout the state of Delaware, worked with the health services company Medscient to develop a blockchain solution to address challenges that preventive authorization requirements pose to patients and healthcare providers. The solution will use Symbiont's distributed led technology (DLT) technology.
- In December 2017, Nokia revealed details of a pilot blockchain that aimed to give people more control over their personal health data. In collaboration with OP Financial Group, Nokia sought to explore the potential of digital blockchain technology. The pilot involved rewarding users for sharing data from their Nokia wearable devices. The data that a user has decided to share is encrypted and could only be read by the participants in the platform.
- In April 2018, five health organizations collaborated on a blockchain project to address issues related to service provider data. Humana, MultiPlan, Quest Diagnostics, the Optum of UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare formed the "Synaptic Health Alliance" and announced a pilot program that involves the application of blockchain technology to improve data quality and reduce administrative costs associated with changes in demographics of health care providers.
- In April 2018, Camelot Consulting Group, based in Germany, announced that it has developed a blockchain solution, called the Hypertrust X-Chain, which will help ensure the highest level of security in the storage and exchange of patient data, reported CoinTelegraph.
- In October 2018, the BlackBerry Enterprise Software Company announced a blockchain-based platform for storing and sharing medical data. In its official version dated October 4, the company stated that it intended to create "an ultra-secure global ecosystem" for the health sector. For this, BlackBerry has partnered with ONEBIO.
- In December 2018, Edward Chang, president of HTC's healthcare division, said the company is actively developing blockchain-based platforms for healthcare applications, reported DigiTimes.
- In December 2018, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) joined forces with the startup blockchain MediBloc to explore the best ways to store and share patient data, reported CoinDesk.
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