A blockchain-based information exchange could remove friction and costs presented by intermediaries in existing health information exchanges, according to a Deloitte white paper [PDF] on blockchain’s potential benefits for health care titled, “Blockchain: Opportunities for Health Care.” The white paper was written in response to the Department of Health and Human Services ’ Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology ideation challenge—The Use of Blockchain in Health IT and Health-Related Research. Deloitte’s was among 15 papers selected from a field of over 70 submissions from a range of individuals, organizations and companies addressing ways blockchain technology could be used in healthcare. 15 Winners Selected The winning white papers were chosen based on creativity, ability to inform and foster transformative changes in the industry, and their proposed solutions or recommendations for market viability. The relevance of the government’s call for white papers is that it serves as an official acknowledgment of the technology. Use cases already demonstrate the benefits of blockchain technology’s decentralization, trust disintermediation, enhanced data integrity and lower transaction costs, the Deloitte white paper noted. The exchange of health records and exchange data using the protocol, Integrating the Health Care Enterprise (IHE), offers a way to address medical records accessibility and system interoperability. The paper examined the technical requirements for health care systems to meet the standards that will support the envisioned National Health Information Network. Blockchain Targets Pain Points Blockchain technology offers a distributed framework to improve the integration of health care information across uses and stakeholders. It addresses existing pain points and provides a more disintermediated, secure and efficient system. The paper listed six Health Information Exchange pain points and corresponding distrubted ledger opportunities: establishing a trust network, cost per transaction, master patient index, varying data standards, limited access to population data, and […]
