Blockchain technology (BCT) is what makes bitcoin and other crypto currencies like Etherium work.  If you have no idea what BCT is or how it works, you’re not alone! 

If you aren’t interested in bitcoin, why should you care?  

What if it had an impact on health care?

What most people don’t realize is that BCT is already being used in limited ways in health care.   

In a few years we will ALL be impacted by significant changes in health care made possible by BCT.

Our health care system is complex, disconnected, highly regulated and functions poorly in many areas.  Health care costs are 20% of the GDP in the US.  Administrative costs are 8% of that (see graph).  Health care is bankrupting individuals and the country.  

Blockchain technology offers a way to reduce administrative and other costs.

There is nothing standardized about record keeping or sharing within the US health care systems.  Specialties live in ‘silos’ and find it almost impossible to communicate and collaborate about the same patient.  

Patients have to log into multiple ‘portals’ to see their health care records from each practice, some of which may or may not be up to date – or even have the same data.  Plus, portals may not exist for some practices.

Blockchain could change all that, leading to greater efficiency, yet with better privacy and security.

 

The whole point of using a blockchain is to let people — in particular, people who don’t trust one another — share valuable data in a secure, tamperproof way.
— MIT Technology Review

 

What is blockchain?

Blockchain technology sounds really complex, like something only math geniuses can understand.   

Yes, it can be a little confusing.  

What is blockchain technology (BCT )and what makes it so great/revolutionary?

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines it as “tamper evident and tamper resistant digital ledgers implemented in a distributed fashion (i.e., without a central repository) and usually without a central authority ([e.g.,] a bank, company, or government). At [its] basic level, it enable[s] a community of users to record transactions in a shared ledger within that community, such that under normal operation of the blockchain network no transaction can be changed once published.”

To put it more simply:

  1. Think of it as a huge ledger, kind of like an enormous Excel spreadsheet composed of a list of records (blocks) that are linked using highly complex, computer-generated cryptography.
  2. When a record is entered, it becomes a ‘block’ and that block is assigned a randomly generated number, which then generates another really long ‘hash’ number (that’s the crypto part).

 

What this means in health care, where privacy is such a huge concern (think; PHI, protected health information) – and is highly regulated by the government as well as by insurance companies – is that the business solutions based on blockchain will have to trade off some transparency for privacy in order to meet all current regulations.  Methods are already being developed to do that.

 

As blockchain technology is adopted by – and adapted to – medical and dental needs, the changes we see will be revolutionary.

Think back to when the first computerized systems were put in place and manual records began being phased out.  BCT is the next step in the digital health revolution, but with the advantage of greater efficiencies and a real chance that ALL health care professionals can finally collaborate to give a patient the best, personalized health care  – in a safe, secure environment.  

 

Examples of how BCT can improve health care – now and in the future

Warn of multiple medical insurance claims

Streamline insurance payments

Maintain and share electronic health records without having to be on the same network or system, while maintaining privacy for PHI.   

Ensuring HIPAA compliance and data privacy with greater security

Verifying health care professional’s credentials quickly and efficiently

Enhancing telemedicine and patient communication

Providing precision medicine and genetic therapies

Enabling true personalized medicine across all disciplines with trust, transparency and incentive alignment 

Lowering costs of health delivery systems

Expanding access with better quality of care delivery

Improving supply chain efficiencies

Improving research coordination and access

Improving teaching resources at all levels for health care professionals

 

Will blockchain technology solve all our problems?  Doubtful.  

Does it have the potential to change lives?  Absolutely!