Blockchain, which emerged in 2009 as the foundation for trading the digital currency bitcoin, could potentially solve some of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry.
Blockchain is a permanent and immutable log of online transactions or exchanges, which are grouped into blocks. This record can be shared among a network of computers, and users on the network can add to the record of transactions. Instead of a centrally located database that maintains and manages records, the database is distributed among the networks.
Blockchain is widely used in the financial industry, and it could be extremely useful in the healthcare sector as well, said Aaron Symanski, chief technology officer of Change Healthcare, at the Becker's Hospital Review 3rd Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle conference in Chicago. For instance, blockchain could be used for claims adjudication and billing management.
However, Mr. Symanski said using blockchain in the healthcare industry presents unique challenges.
"When we think about building a blockchain network… what happens on that chain is visible to everyone on the chain," he said. With bitcoin and other cyber currencies, it is key that the information being stored is visible and available to everyone on the blockchain. This isn't the case when dealing with personal health information. To overcome this challenge, some healthcare organizations are using variations of blockchain that allow protected patient information to stay private, such as storing certain information away from the chain but using the chain to ensure the information is correct.
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