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For health care, the blockchain continually switches from obscure technology to a viable tool for various administrative and data-centric use cases. But even if big and small players might be curious about its potential, they will also have to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to pilots and partnerships dedicated to distributed register technology.
A lot of healthcare systems, payers and other organizations have recently taken a dip – read some examples of the exploratory blockchain projects launched in 2018.
Perhaps the most high-profile blockchain pilot is the Synaptic Health Alliance, a collaboration of seven organizations that explores how technology could keep information in health care provider directories and other databases up-to-date. Instead of individually recording redundant data sets, groups have transformed the blockchain as a collective means of lightening the load.
"Our premise to put together an alliance is if we could join forces to solve the problem for the industry, we could theoretically improve the quality of such data and reduce our operating costs by sharing the work or the associated burden. maintaining these data "Mike Jacobs, a distinguished senior engineer with Optum Health and the company's blockchain spokesperson, told MobiHealthNews. "There is information that needs to be updated, and all payers are independently taking care of them and updating them without any competitive advantage, therefore, joining forces, we hope to share the work of others in reducing these costs, and since we have more organizations with an eye on this data, quality should also increase. "
The alliance was first announced and launched in Apriland at the time it consisted of Humana, MultiPlan, Quest Diagnostics, Optum and UnitedHealthcare. The last few weeks have also seen the addition of Aetna and Ascension to the effort.
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Earlier this month, the Lab of Medical Imaging and Computation at Harvard Medical School, part of Massachusetts General Hospital, announced the launch of an explorative blockchain pilot with the Korean startup MediBloc. The three-year project will use simulated patient data to explore new storage and exchange mechanisms that could complement the institution's EHR system. In addition, the couple will also examine how artificial intelligence could be used to improve imaging, analysis and other information management challenges.
MediBloc, which focuses on the distribution of health information between patients and medical institutions in a secure ecosystem, also has a series of collaborations with other medical institutions such as the Seoul National University and the St. Mary & # 39; s Hospital in the South Korea.
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The exchange of professional credentials (ProCredEx) is another substantial health blockchain collaboration involving numerous organizations. Announced at the beginning of November, the effort is to use distributed register technology to reduce the administrative burden of professional credentials. Next to the blockchain, the exchange will exploit artificial intelligence, data science and the collective experience of its contributors to verify medical licenses, schooling and other credentials of doctors who cost time and money to organizations to confirm .
"In the coming months, we intend to grow the Partner Program in order to diversify our membership base and increase the volume of verified credential data available within the exchange," said Anthony Begando, CEO and co-founder of ProCredEx.
ProCredEx is a partnership with Hashed Health, which develops blockchain platforms for implementation in the healthcare sector. Initial participants of the program include WellCare Health Plans, Spectrum Health, Accenture, National Government Services and The Hardenbergh Group.
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In June, the Mayo Clinic signed a work agreement with the London startup Medicalchain to explore how the blockchain could benefit the healthcare system. In a post announcing the agreement, the CEO of Medicalchain, Dr. Abdullah Albeyatti, said that the effort will mainly focus on revamping the management of CCEs.
"The Mayo Clinic will provide its world-class health and health care IT skills, while Medicalchain will provide our knowledge on blockchain and cryptography," wrote Albeyatti in the post announcing the collaboration. "Together we will work on several cases of use for electronic blockchain medical records." There are a lot of opportunities out there, and we believe this working arrangement will benefit all healthcare stakeholders. "
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Cape Fear Valley Hospital (CFVH) made a partnership with Health Wizz in July to pilot the latest blockchain platform for managing patient health data.
Patients can use the Health Wizz platform to record and share their personal health information, and are rewarded with a digital currency to do so. For the pilot, 30 CFVH patients enrolled in a chronic disease management program will receive the blockchain tool with the ultimate goal of reducing hospital readmissions and improving physician-patient communication among the various health care providers.
"Eighty-six cents of every dollar spent on health care goes to treat or manage a chronic condition," said Michael Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health, in a statement. "Technology tools like Health Wizz help reduce inefficiencies and improve the ability to proactively identify risks and coordinate care, enabling healthcare professionals to better manage and manage chronic diseases."
